


The Dead Court

by Farbautidottir



Series: The Dead Court [2]
Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Jane Foster, BAMF Sif, F/M, Gen, Jötunheimr | Jotunheim, Jötunn Jane, Jötunn Loki, Miðgarðr | Midgard, Multi, Norwegian Mythology & Folklore, Vanaheimr | Vanaheim, Yggdrasil - Freeform, lokane - Freeform, Álfheimr | Alfheim, Ásgarðr | Asgard (realm)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-23 12:10:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 157,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3767689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farbautidottir/pseuds/Farbautidottir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After moving to Asgard with Thor, Jane Foster notices a fear of Odin has crept into the hearts of the Æsir. On a mission to Vanaheim, she receives her troubling prophecy and vows to leave Asgard for good. Instead she discovers Odin is Loki and he kidnaps her, escaping to Jötunheim, where Jane quickly learns that you cannot outrun fate.</p><p>The Dead Court begins about five months after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a little over a year after Thor: The Dark World ends. It is set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but has influences from the Marvel Comics and Norse Mythology. It takes place entirely in Yggdrasil, which encompasses the Nine Realms.<br/>[COMPLETE]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_Songs for the chapter: "Gone and Found" by MØ, "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" by The Smiths_ **

* * *

Jane felt like she was suffocating in green. It was Ian's birthday and Darcy had gone way overboard with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme for his surprise party. As she held the end of a green streamer up so that Darcy could tape the other end in place, she asked, "How many people are even coming to this?"

Darcy glared at her before stating, "Just because you haven't made any friends in London, does not mean we all haven't."

"Sorry," Jane said. "What I meant was isn't this a lot of party stuff—especially for a guy who is turning, what, twenty-two?"

"It's a big deal!" Darcy exclaimed. "Ian's never had a themed birthday before! His mom wouldn't allow it. This has to be the biggest, craziest little kid type themed party ever."

"Okay," Jane laughed. "Good thing Ninja Turtles are back in style, I guess?"

"Right?!" Darcy said. "Ian said it was his favorite as a kid. It's gonna be epic. Oh, is Thor still coming? Does he eat cake?"

"He should be." Jane nodded. "And, I guess? I don't know. They don't have cake on Asgard—more of a puddings and pies kind of place."

"Tell me about it." Darcy rolled her eyes. "Did you know I had to go to three Tescos before I found one with the tubs of buttercream icing? What are these people doing with their lives?"

Jane laughed and the familiar sound of a thunderstorm came from outside.

"Oh good, Space Boy isn't late." Darcy smirked.

Jane dropped the streamer and ran outside to greet Thor. It had been nearly three months since she'd last seen him on her most recent visit to Asgard. He looked radiant as always, as if the stars shone out of his skin. Jane was about to kiss him when she noticed he hadn't come alone.

"I hope it's not an imposition," Thor began. "Sif has never been to a human's birthday party before."

"No, not at all." Jane smiled at both Thor and Sif. "I think Darcy's expecting the whole of London to show up, so the more the merrier."

"Thank you." Sif said. She looked around her at the misty drizzle and back to Jane. "This is different than the desert."

"Yeah, it's…" Jane trailed off.

"Wetter." Thor finished for her.

Jane smiled and then ushered them inside.

"How will the entire city fit inside of this chamber?" Sif wondered aloud.

"Earth humor." Thor said quietly and Sif gave a slight blush.

She had learned plenty about Midgardian culture from her time with Agent Coulson's team some months ago in the southwestern United States, but their humor had never clicked for her. She did not find Jane to be particularly full of Earth humor, though, which was a relief given how much time she was spending in Asgard these days.

"Darcy!" Thor cried. "You've done an incredible job with the place. It's so very…green."

"Thank you, Thor!" Darcy beamed and shot Jane a 'told you so' look.

"Darcy, you remember Sif?" Thor said as Sif moved further into the living room.

"Yes, from New Mexico like three years ago." Darcy said. "Hi!"

"Hello," Sif said. "Thank you for letting me attend your friend's birth festivities."

"No way! Thanks for coming!" Darcy bubbled.

"On Asgard we celebrate our Quinquagenary instead." Sif explained.

"What's a Quinn Kwajen thing?" Darcy asked.

"It means fiftieth anniversary." Jane explained quickly and then asked, "Okay, what else do you need help with before Ian gets here?"

"Um…" Darcy looked around the room to spot what was missing. The streamers were up, ninja turtle cardboard stand-ups were in place, the ninja turtle and green paper plates and cups were stacked by the food and impromptu bar, the table had a plastic green table cloth on it, the homemade ninja turtle cake was out as the centerpiece. "Oh! The candles. I forgot to buy birthday candles."

"I can go buy them. "Jane said. "Aren't you finishing the appetizers?"

"Yes! I mean, just frozen pizza bagels, but still. Oven on and stuff. Don't want to burn down the apartment."

"Right," Jane said. It was her apartment. "Do you need anything else while I'm out? Ice? Beer?"

"All stocked. Really I just need to start blowing up these balloons. You didn't have any helium in the lab, Jane!"

"Helium?" Sif asked, looking to Thor. "From Hela?"

Thor shrugged.

"Uh, it's an element. A gas." Jane explained. "It's lighter than air, so the balloons will float."

"What are 'balloons'?" Thor asked.

"These," Darcy held up a green balloon from her pack of fifty and blew it up a little bit. "See? But no go on the floating part."

"Oh, well, I don't know about helium, but I think we can help." Sif said. She held out her hand for the balloon and added, "May I?"

"Sure, be my guest." Darcy said handing the deflated balloon over.

Sif blew into the balloon, which easily filled to capacity, and Darcy took it back from her to show her how to seal it. When they released it, the green oval floated to the ceiling.

"Um, awesome!" Darcy exclaimed.

"I'm gonna have to test your lung air, Thor." Jane said. "What _is_ that?"

"We have a secondary store of air for swimming." Sif explained. "It's lighter weight as to not slow us down."

"What Sif said," Thor laughed. "It's particularly useful when having swim races with the Vanir. They lack this extra air."

"You are terrible at those races!" Sif said.

"Sif, not in front of the Earthlings. They can never know my weaknesses!" Thor teased and then walked over to Jane to pick her up in an embrace. "I never said hello, Jane."

"Hello," Jane smiled, looking into his sky blue eyes before kissing him.

"Get a room!" Darcy cried.

"This is my apartment." Jane pointed out.

Darcy rolled her eyes and looked at Sif, "How much special air do you have?"

"Enough for that package of… balloons." Sif replied, grateful for the excuse to not pay attention to Thor with Jane.

"Okay, I'm going for the candles now." Jane said.

"I'll come with you, Jane." Thor said. "I need to talk to you about something."

Darcy raised her eyebrows and looked at Sif. Sif shrugged. Thor never spoke to her about his relationships. She liked to think this was because he knew it would hurt her, but she was unsure if Thor understood how she felt about him still.

"Okay, but change first." Jane said looking over Thor's Asgardian garb. She looked at Darcy and asked, "What time is everyone getting here?"

"Eight o'clock. Ian is coming at half past." Darcy said.

Jane looked at her cell phone's clock. It was 7:45. Thor would have to be concise, whatever it was he planned to talk to her about. The gnaw of worry crept in that he was dumping her, but then why come now? And why bring Sif? It wasn't logical. She noticed a low security classification text message from Director Hill and pressed her thumb print to the screen to open it. There was an emoticon of a rainbow followed by a question mark. She replied, "Mine" and put the phone in her back pocket.

Once Thor's visits to Earth and Jane's trips to Asgard became a standard thing, Director Fury had required everyone to check in whenever they used the Bifröst or were visited by someone who used it. "We want to attempt to regulate the airspace now that it's not just our own space junk coming and going." Fury had explained.

The emoticon had been Tony Stark's joke of an idea when the whole initiative started and had originally consisted of a bridge emoticon as well. Of course, Jane was still the only person from Earth who ever used the Bifröst, so the whole concept was a tad overdone. After learning five months ago that Director Fury had died during the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jane thought this whole thing would stop, but instead Tony took it over personally to keep it out of HYDRA's hands and protect Jane from government investigation. He jokingly complained that since the Bifröst caused the arc reactor to temporarily go offline, he might as well get to bug Jane if she was going to shut off his electricity with her god of thunder love affair.

After a couple months of it being just Jane and Tony on the Bifröst Alert Line, Maria Hill, the former Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., took over. Stark Industries hired her shortly after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and their CEO, Pepper Potts, decided to give Maria the means to covertly restart a maintenance level of S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to protect Earth from alien threats.

"You ready?" Jane asked as Thor emerged from her bedroom in jeans and a henley shirt. The blue fabric stretched snugly around his bulging pectoral muscles and Jane was glad they were leaving right then. Otherwise she wouldn't trust herself not to pull the shirt right off of him.

"All set." Thor smiled and opened the door of the flat for Jane.

She grabbed her keys from the entryway shelf and called, "Twenty-two candles, right?"

"Yeah! And not the kind that relight. Those are so annoying." Darcy called to her from the kitchen.

~.~.~

On the street, the earlier mist had become a light drizzle. It wasn't hard enough to merit a hood, but it made Jane shiver slightly. Thor moved his arm around her, emanating out some radiation from his lifeforce to warm her. He called it magic.

"Odin has been asking about you, Jane." Thor began. "He noticed that you are visiting Asgard more often and he wants to know what my feelings are for you. He is concerned that things are becoming serious between us."

Jane could hardly stand, let alone walk. She moved to lean on the metal post of a zebra crossing sign.

"Jane, are you all right?" Thor asked.

"What did you say?" she whispered.

"I asked if you are okay."

"No, to Odin. What did you tell Odin?"

"I told him the truth." Thor said. "That I love you."

"And?" Jane said, her ability to breathe returning.

"And he says that I cannot keep leaving Asgard so often." Thor said.

"Oh," Jane frowned. _Would Odin make Thor stop seeing her?_ She wondered.

"Jane," Thor began. "Odin is requiring you to move to Asgard permanently if we are to continue our relationship."

"Move?" Jane said.

"Yes, to Asgard." Thor said.

"With you?" Jane asked.

"Well, I should hope." Thor said with a laugh. "I will give you time to think it over, of course."

"No!" Jane said. "I mean, yes. I mean, I don't need any time to think about it. I want to come."

"Wonderful!" Thor said. "And you're sure you're okay? Your color went entirely off for a moment."

"I'm great!" Jane beamed. "I thought… I thought you were breaking up with me."

"No," Thor said and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I would never part with you, Jane."

He kissed her softly on the forehead.

Jane let out an excited laugh and exclaimed, "I'm moving to Asgard!"

Thor laughed with her and then Jane remembered they needed to buy candles. She led Thor in the direction of the grocery store, figuring the corner shop wouldn't carry something this unordinary.

Jane wondered if Odin's requirement meant he was actually beginning to approve of her, possibly even like her. Hope swelled inside of her, leaving her feeling lighter than helium.

~.~.~

They got back to Jane's apartment just after eight. She handed Darcy three ten-packs of candles, all in the color green, and saw only a couple other people were there mingling awkwardly with Sif. Her concern that no one would come seemed to be accurate, unfortunately.

"Tube delays." Darcy said, seeing Jane's expression. "I think."

"I'm sure. Saturdays are the worst." Jane agreed.

"Thor! So good to see you." A familiar voice called. Jane turned to find her mentor Dr. Erik Selvig walking into her apartment and embracing Thor.

"I didn't know you invited Erik!" Jane said to Darcy. "That was nice of you."

"Yeah, well, I figured you'd want to see him again…" Darcy shrugged as she attempted to hide a large grin.

"Wait, you knew what Thor was going to ask?" Jane said.

Darcy just continued to grin.

"Jane!" Erik called, walking over to her with open arms. "I'm excited for you and Thor both. It's going to be a real adventure."

Jane hugged Erik and shot Thor a look. He only laughed.

"Forgive me, but I seem to have missed the exciting news?" Sif said.

"Jane's moving to Asgard!" Darcy burst out. "Thor told us last week."

Sif looked to Thor with wide eyes. _Why would he not have told me this?_ She wondered.

"She only just said yes." Thor explained to Sif breezily. "Odin commands it."

"Of course," Sif said after a moment. She managed a smile at Thor and then Jane, but inside she was furious with Thor and disappointed with herself for being foolish enough to think their relationship might end. Now it was only a matter of time before Thor convinced Odin to give Jane one of Iðunn's apples. _Unless it truly is Odin's command_ , she reasoned. Odin had not been himself for the last few months.

"Okay, okay! Celebration drinks!" Darcy said.

"Wait, is this even Ian's birthday party?" Jane asked.

"Um, duh. Why else would I buy some much ninja turtle crap? And why would Matt and Anne Marie be here?" Darcy replied. "Say hi guys. Um, Thor's also from the village Asgard in Norway, like Sif."

The two strangers waved at Thor from their spot on the couch. Darcy busied herself pouring gin and tonics into paper party cups. Sif stood and walked over to Darcy after realizing she was too upset to be around Thor after hearing the news.

"Forgive me, Darcy, but I must go." Sif said.

"Already? You haven't even met Ian!"

"Please give him my regards." Sif said.

She walked to the balcony where they'd landed.

"Sif, wait," Thor said, hurrying after her.

She didn't pause and he followed her outside to the balcony, grabbing her arm to turn her towards him. Jane watched through the window as they had a heated discussion in voices too low to hear. As Darcy placed a room temperature gin and tonic in her hand, she saw Thor cup Sif's face in his hands. Jane instinctively drank the entire cup, nearly choking at the high gin to tonic ratio.

"Easy now," Erik said, rubbing her back as she coughed.

The Bifröst had opened and Thor had not released Sif's arm by the time it transported her. A flash of crystallized light filled the room causing Matt and Anne Marie to look out the window. Sif and Thor were no longer there.

"Was that lightning?" Matt asked.

"Yeah." Jane said tightly. She handed her empty cup to Erik and went to the front door. "I'm going for a walk. I'll come back after 8:30, don't worry."

"Jane," Erik called softly. When she did not turn to him he added, "Take a jacket."

Jane grabbed her jacket and keys and hurried out the door, working hard not to slam it as she left. She didn't want to ruin Darcy's big night.

She wasn't sure where she was going, she just needed to be outside. Usually, when she was feeling frustrated or wound up about her data she went to the cathedral a few blocks away and sat in its garden. It was her rooftop equivalent to Puente Antiguo, except with much worse stargazing. She decided to go there now.

The garden was still in bloom, but a late summer decay. She felt a bit like the flowers here, as though she was persisting past her time. Outstaying her welcome. Their prime beauty had faded weeks ago and now the petals clung on in their ugly, hearty states, desperate not to shrivel and dry up.

Jane ran the scene through her mind again, attempting to take on an objective view. Sif and Thor were dear friends. This was a fact she was well aware of from every aspect. They shared an unspoken language that she was yet to fully develop with Thor. They knew each other from childhood and had fought more perilous battles together than Jane could fathom. Perhaps Sif was merely expressing her concerns as a friend to Thor. But even then, what was the concern? Jane's human form? Her limitations? Probably.

Jane sighed. She liked Sif. She admired her strength and poise. Many times she wished that she could more like her. If Thor had feelings for Sif, Jane was unsure how she felt about it. She loved Thor, of course, but then so did Sif.

Jane let out a groan.

There was another option. Sif could be upset about something else entirely. Jane did not know her very well, and anything could be going on in Sif's life. The whole thing could have been entirely coincidental. After all, Sif had come tonight knowing the party was in Jane's apartment. It was not as if she and Thor's relationship had ever been a secret.

Jane nodded to herself even though she was not sold on the idea. She pulled out her phone to check the time, which was 8:27, and saw another rainbow emoticon text from the Bifröst Alert Line. She replied, "Mine" and then opened her photos. She wanted to look at photos of her and Thor together to see if he looked happy. She knew it was illogical, so she told herself it was the gin making her do it. As she swiped through her albums, she came across a photo of the Æsir library. She'd snuck it in one afternoon while visiting Asgard. Odin had invited her there while Thor was away on business in Vanaheim, and he took the time to give her a more intimate tour of the endless stacks than the librarians ever had. After he had left her to read in peace, she'd taken the photo.

She zoomed in on it, trying to pretend she was back in the library, which was her favorite spot in Asgard. As she moved over the width of the photo, something caught her eye. In the far left corner, where the stacks met a rarely used passageway Odin had showed her, there was a blur of green and gold surrounding what looked like a figure. She tried to zoom further in to make out what it was, but the pixilation was too great. When she zoomed all the way out, it only looked like a smear of grey and green. _Creepy._ She thought.

She looked around her, feeling suddenly frightened in the garden, like a ghost was present. She didn't believe in ghosts, but that was not how she felt at that moment. She stood up and walked out of the garden and back towards her building. She was not ready to go back yet though and instead cut left on the thoroughfare heading away from her apartment.

Refocusing her thoughts on tangible, non-supernatural things, she told herself that regardless of what had happened between Sif and Thor tonight, she had to decide if she was going to Asgard or not. Less than an hour ago that answer was certain. Now, though, she weighed her options.

After she, Erik, and Thor saved the universe from Malekith's destruction, S.H.I.E.L.D. had moved her from an observation status to something more involved in the organization. They were basically her employer until their downfall five months ago, even though her paychecks were issued under other corporation names. One of those names was Stark Industries. She had met Tony Stark and Pepper Potts through Erik, and they had gotten on well. So well, in fact, that Tony had offered her a legitimate career in Stark Industries doing research next to Dr. Bruce Banner. Dr. Banner's research had basically inspired her second dissertation, so it was kind of a big deal. But working with Dr. Banner required consistency and routine due to his condition, and she had been unable to commit to it because of how often she was in Asgard. Perhaps now she could take on that role.

But what about Asgard? Living there would give her more access to every technology they had. She could advance the human race by centuries in one day's worth of reading in the Æsir library. Or working in their healings rooms. Or talking shop with Heimdall, if he'd let her. She could take all of that knowledge back to Earth and go to work for Tony then. With Dr. Banner's help, they could make her discoveries look like collaborative research on Earth. They would be winning Nobel prizes for decades with the insight she could gain in Asgard.

The decision seemed obvious, but Jane's heart hesitated. It threw up walls and berated her for belittling her feelings in lieu of logic.

There was a change in the clouds and she looked back in the direction of her apartment to see a surge of energy. Someone had come from Asgard. She altered her route to head home, pulling out her phone to text "Mine too" before Director Hill could ask.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Songs for the chapter: "No Mythologies To Follow" by MØ, "Earth to Asgard" by Patrick Doyle_ **

* * *

The party was in full swing when Jane returned. She was shocked at the sheer number of people who could fit inside the one bedroom apartment. Darcy was all smiles and laughter as she poured drinks for some girls Jane had never seen before.

Ian caught Jane's eye and waved. He wore a cone shaped ninja turtle birthday hat and looked thoroughly pleased. Jane waved back and hung up her jacket.

Erik approached her and said, "He's in your room. You okay?"

"Better." Jane smiled. "A useful walk."

She placed her hand softly on Erik's arm to thank him for his concern and turned to the closed door of her bedroom.

~.~.~

Thor sat on her bed still in his Earth clothes. He looked up at her when she came in.

"Jane, I am so sorry." He began. "I'm certain my interaction tonight with Sif had misleading appearances. I assure you that she and I are only friends."

"It's okay." Jane said. She sat next to him on the bed. "I think I just needed to think about the move more than I had."

"And has your decision changed?"

"No," Jane said. "No, I still plan to move to Asgard. There is too much there for me to turn it down."

As soon as she said the words aloud, she realized this was the least romantic thing anyone could have ever said when their boyfriend asked them to move in with them.

Thor smiled regardless and said, "I am pleased to hear it."

He leaned over to kiss her, his lips tasting of the cheap gin Darcy was serving. Jane kissed him back. It was calm at first, but then their tongues met and Jane's hand began to wander over his chest. She tugged at his shirt, which he let her pull off, and ran her hands over his smooth, hard skin. Thor stood and locked the bedroom door before returning to her. He fumbled to unbutton her flannel shirt, his fingers too large for the task, and Jane finished for him, removing her bra as well. Thor softly caressed the bare skin of her back underneath her hair before kissing her lips again. They finished undressing and he placed her on the bed. His huge frame hovered over her a moment before he slid himself inside of her.

The sex didn't last long, which was fine by Jane since there were thirty people on the other side of the thin, wooden door. Thor rolled beside her as to not crush her under his weight, and his hand lingered on her stomach.

"When should I move?" Jane asked him.

"As soon as possible." Thor replied a little too excited even for his eager demeanor. "Odin has forbade me to make any further trips to Midgard that are unrelated to its protection."

"Let's go after the party then." Jane said. "I don't need to pack much, just some journals that are in the lab. Anything else I'd need is already in my room there."

Thor nodded and sat up.

"Very well, we should rejoin the party."

"Yes." Jane forced a smile.

She watched Thor pull his clothing back on and wondered if she was making a huge mistake. But there was something pushing her towards Asgard. Ever since meeting Thor, she had felt an odd sense that the realm was waiting for her.

Jane stood and pulled her undergarments back on, opting to pull a dress from her wardrobe instead of her jeans and flannel.

"Am I underdressed?" Thor frowned.

"No, I just… I want to dress up for my last night on Earth." Jane smiled.

Thor smiled and assessed her outfit, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," Jane said.

"No, Jane, thank you for agreeing to this." Thor said, his voice earnest. "I cannot imagine life without you, but I fear upsetting Odin. He is not the same since Frigga's passing and Loki's death on Svartalfheim. Your moving makes it so I do not have to choose, which is the greatest gift you could give me."

_Maybe it isn't a huge mistake._ Jane thought.

"I'm glad to come, Thor." Jane assured him. It was not exactly a lie, but Jane felt some guilt for omitting her full rationale in moving. Her motives were not as selfless as he painted them to be.

"I need to inform Director Hill." She said suddenly. "I'll be out there in a second."

Thor nodded and left the bedroom. She fished her cell phone from her discarded pants' pocket and unlocked the secure connection. She didn't want to call Hill; that would feel too much like asking permission. Besides, it wasn't like she had a direct line to her. She'd be telling some covert employee who was being watched in secret by another employee who would then relay the message to Hill. _No thanks._ She thought.

She opted instead to send a text to the Bifröst Alert Line. She would be using the Bifröst, so it made sense. She kept the text vague and brief, stating: _Heading to Asgard tonight for an extended stay. Return date unknown._

Only seconds after hitting Send did her phone chirp a new text alert. It was from Tony Stark directly and featured a giant emoticon of a smiley face with swelling hearts for eyes followed by the words, _Pepper says you'd better have 10,000 demigod babies!_ Jane blushed crimson and wrote back, _You're the worst!_ before shutting off the phone. She threw it on her bed and went out to finally join the party.

* * *

Darcy handed Jane a Tupperware with a slice of cake in it saying, "A piece of Earth to take with you."

Jane thanked her and put it in the satchel she wore. It barely fit with all her journals.

"This is going to be amazing for you, Jane." Erik said softly to her. "You deserve every opportunity."

Jane wrapped her arms tightly around him and he hugged her back just as fiercely. They released each other and Jane smiled her thanks at him. Erik moved to shake Thor's hand and Jane gave Darcy and Ian less intense hugs.

"Take care of her for us." Erik told Thor.

"You have my word." Thor said.

He looked at Jane and she gave him a nod. He pulled her against his side and used mjölnir to fly them to the rooftop. The Bifröst began to open, swirling around them, and Jane gripped Thor more tightly as they lifted from the ground. She tried to look down to see Earth fade away, but it was too difficult to do with the gravitational forces.

~.~.~

It was midday when Heimdall greeted them in the Observatory due to the time differences between realms.

"I brought the horses like you asked." Heimdall said to Thor. He looked at Jane and gave her a smile—a rare gift from Heimdall. "Jane, I am most happy to help you however I can. Please do not hesitate to come and speak with me whenever you'd like. I will keep a close watch over your mortals."

"Thank you, Heimdall. That's very kind of you." Jane said and then added with a laugh, "I might be by all the time though."

Heimdall inclined his head and Thor thanked him as well before leading Jane to the waiting horses.

"This one is Glenr." Thor said, giving Jane the reins to the massive white steed.

"For me?" Jane asked.

"Yes, he's all yours." Thor smiled. "A welcome gift."

Jane nodded and then looked up at the horse. She hadn't ridden a horse since summer camp when she was nine and she was uncertain what exactly to do next.

"Let me help you." Thor said, putting his hands on her waist and lifting her onto the saddle. Jane swung a leg over the horse, glad she'd changed back into jeans before they left Earth, and settled herself into the saddle. Thor adjusted the stirrups and held the reins up to Jane. She waited uneasily while he mounted the silver horse next to hers with grace. He made a clicking noise with his tongue and both of the horses began to tölt. Jane clung to the reins and tightened her thighs' grip on the saddle. The gait was smooth though and she soon eased into it as they moved quickly over the Rainbow Bridge that led to the city of Asgard. Once inside the city, Thor stayed on the horse and led them around the palace to a side entrance that led most directly to their quarters. While Jane had always been given a guest room when she visited, she had only used it while Thor was away for business. They dismounted and a servant took the horses from them.

"I've had them set up a suite for you in my quarters." Thor said as they walked inside. "A private dressing chamber as well as a study. I considered giving you your own drawing room, but I was unsure if you would want it."

Jane shook her head and said, "Who would I entertain?"

"Well, you may always use my drawing room or parlor as needed." Thor said. He stopped walking and turned to Jane. "Listen, I know this is all a bit sudden for you, but as Prince of Asgard, I have obligations. Now that you are here as more than my guest, you will share in those obligations."

"What type of obligations?" Jane asked.

"We rule a kingdom and protect all the realms. It is not done just at wartime." Thor explained. "I know you do not prefer much company and like to dwell in your own mind, but entertaining people for the sake of making them feel valued and heard is the most critical thing we do at court."

"This makes sense." Jane said. "I can be more sociable."

"Good," Thor smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I know I will be able to count on you. Everyone already holds a fondness for you. It will be easy."

Jane smiled and wondered if Heimdall counted as someone she had to entertain. She desperately wanted to pick his brain about how the Bifröst worked, not to mention get more insight to the other star systems.

A guard entered the room they were in and bowed to Thor before saying, "Odin wishes to have you both for luncheon in the king's quarters."

Thor nodded to the guard and then looked at Jane with a kind smile.

"And so it begins." He said. "You will find suitable attire in your dressing chamber."

He pointed her towards a section of his quarters she'd never been in before. Jane went inside the open air room that was her study. She placed her satchel on the desk chair and looked out at the private balcony. The Askjafjöll Mountains shimmered purple in the distance, across an inlet of the Ægir Sea. Jane had studied the geography of Asgard in depth on her previous visits, though she had actually been to these mountains when Loki had guided them to Svartalfheim through his secret passageway hidden within them.

A grief she usually managed to repress began to overcome her as she remembered Loki's heroics from that day. She tore herself from the vista and opened the doors to her dressing chamber. It was well-lit by fire torches and a high lamp made from orka. Orka was what the Æsir used to power any 'magic' that didn't come from their lifeforce. Jane did not know precisely what the substance was; only that it was considered a critical energy import and was only found on Jötunheim. A single lamp of orka could light a room much larger than this one, and Jane knew that no one outside of royalty could afford such unnecessary access to this level of luxury. She felt a little guilty herself having it in her own chamber.

Jane took in her dressing choices. Two blue gowns, one silvery grey, and one in burgundy made up the casual dress options. Only the burgundy one was new to her since the last time she was on Asgard. She decided to go with it for their lunch with Odin. There was a light knock on the wall. Jane realized it was a hidden door that was the servants' entrance and she called, "Come in."

Her lady's maid, Abigæl, entered with a basket of hair products.

"My lady," she said, giving Jane a slight bow. This was abnormal and felt extremely formal to Jane.

"How have you been, Abigæl?" Jane asked.

"I have been well. I was pleased to hear of your return. Jóney indicated it was a permanent move?" she replied. Jóney was the head of the ladies maids.

"Yes, that is the case." Jane smiled. "Are you still going to be my lady's maid?"

"It is your decision." Abigæl inclined her head. "I hope I have served you well."

"Of course!" Jane said. "But if you're staying on, you have to promise me one thing."

"Of course, my lady."

"Okay, two things." Jane corrected. "First, no more bowing. Second, no more calling me 'my lady'."

"Forgive me, my lady, but Odin commands it."

"Is Odin here now?" Jane asked.

"The Alfather has ways of knowing, my lady." Abigæl said quietly.

"Very well," Jane said, sensing this was dangerous territory. "Forget I said anything. Earth habits!"

Jane gave an easy laugh and Abigæl relaxed.

"Now, shall we prepare you for luncheon, my lady?"

"Please," Jane said. "I've decided on the burgundy."

"Oh, how lovely. Yes, Irja just finished it. Sif had it commissioned for you weeks ago."

"Sif?" Jane asked as she undressed.

"Yes, my lady. She is really most kind."

Jane smiled and let Abigæl dress her. The first time she dealt with lady's maids was wholly uncomfortable. Jane had felt classist and awkward. Over time and after several horrified looks from maids who thought she was going to strip them of their hard earned jobs in the palace, Jane had acquiesced to the concept. Abigæl was easy going and often direct, which Jane appreciated. In several instances she had steered Jane away from significant cultural faux pas.

Finally Jane was dressed and her hair pinned delicately into a casual Æsir style.

"Perfect!" Jane said. "Thank you."

"My lady." Abigæl bowed and opened the doors to the study so Jane could leave.

Thor was waiting in their common area to escort her to lunch. He wore only a tunic and pants with leather armor wristbands. She could tell his hair had been brushed. He paid her appearance a compliment and led the way to the King's Quarters. Jane felt somewhat smothered by the formality of everything. It was not the Asgard she had come to know and love. She wondered what it meant if Odin was behind it all. _Does Odin mean for me to join their family?_ She wondered. It seemed like a huge leap from his initial opinion of her.

As the guards showed them into Odin's private dining chamber, he rose to greet them. His ravens, Munnin and Huginn, sat on their golden perches next to his place at the table.

"Thor, my son, and Jane Foster! I trust your journey was smooth?" he said.

"Yes, no issues." Thor replied.

"Please sit." Odin said. "We have some matters to discuss."

Jane and Thor took their seats at the gold inlaid table and a servant immediately poured them wine. Odin raised his goblet and took a sip, indicating it was okay for Jane and Thor to do so—mostly Jane, as Thor was essentially Odin's equal.

After they had drank some wine, Odin asked Jane, "What do you think of it?"

"The wine?" Jane clarified. "It's delicious. Is it Vanir?"

The Vanir were famous for their wineries. Thor had explained to her months ago before he took his trip to Vanaheim.

"It is indeed." Odin smiled. "And do you know what else comes from Vanaheim?"

Jane racked her brain for delicacies or anything of value that she had read about. Finally she shook her head apologetically.

"The völva." Odin said.

"Father?" Thor said, his voice cautious.

"What is völva?" Jane asked.

"It is a form of magic that is linked to prophecy." Odin explained.

"It is sorcery!" Thor said.

Odin fixed him with a hard look.

"Sif just recovered Lorelei for this very thing months ago. Why would you wish to seek this out?" Thor asked.

Jane wondered who Lorelei was.

"I am aware of the task I sent Sif to Midgard for." Odin said in a strong tone. "What I hope to discover in Vanaheim is who else is still practicing. I wish to know for our protection. In times of peace, idleness often turns to evil."

"The devil finds work for idle hands." Jane murmured.

"Precisely," Odin said.

"How exactly do you suggest we discover the practitioners?" Thor asked, still clearly unhappy with the overall mission.

"Make friends. Gain trust. There is a reason I am sending only Jane and Sif." Odin said and looked at Jane, "Women tend to speak more freely when not in the company of men. No völva practitioner was ever male."

"Jane and Sif? Alone?" Thor said in an incredulous tone. Jane could tell his voice was starting to rise with anger.

Odin looked to Thor and said, "Yes. They leave next week. Valfreyja will host them."

"So, I am to be a spy?" Jane asked, partially to diffuse the imminent argument between Odin and Thor and partially to clarify what exactly Odin expected her to do.

"Think of it as gathering data if it makes you uneasy." Odin said. "How is your Vanir coming along? Have you been using the book I gave you last time you were here?"

"Um, not very well." Jane said, slightly embarrassed. "It's a very difficult language."

"Well, spend this week working with Thor on it. You will get nowhere without some listening skills."

"Father, I'm afraid my Vanir is very poor as well." Thor said.

"Yes, Loki was the one who ever learned anything." Odin said distantly. He looked to Jane and said, "Work with Fandral. He has... a way with foreign tongues."

"Yes sir." Jane said, inclining her head.

"Now, let us enjoy this luncheon before it grows warm." Odin said.

At his words the servers laid out platters of cured meats and cheeses along with a bowl of what looked to Jane like grapes. Jane was normally expected to dish up first, but today Odin did so.

"In the absence of guests, we serve by rank. You are no longer a guest, Jane." Odin explained to her. "I trust Thor told you of the oath ceremony?"

Jane shook her head and looked at Thor.

"Father, she's only just arrived." Thor said.

"Hardly!" Odin said. "I cannot have her in any confidence if she has not sworn fealty and taken the Æsir Oath."

"Would this make me Æsir?" Jane asked.

Odin looked momentarily horrified at the suggestion before composing himself.

Thor had to explain, "No, you remain mortal. The oath merely makes you an Asgard citizen."

Jane nodded. She would have to get full details from him later on what this meant.

"The ceremony is tomorrow." Odin said.

His tone indicated the topic was closed for discussion and Jane could sense Thor's fuming as he served himself lunch. Jane picked absentmindedly at the remaining options, her mind racing with questions. No one spoke for the remainder of the extremely uncomfortable lunch, and after the plates were cleared Thor stood up abruptly.

"Thank you for lunch, Father." He said tersely before looking at Jane saying, "Let's go."

Jane stood quickly to follow Thor as he walked briskly out the door.

~.~.~

"I have a million questions." Jane burst out once they were finally back in their quarters.

"I know." Thor said. "As do I. Why is Father pushing so much on the Vanaheim mission? Why involve you?"

"He said why." Jane pointed out.

"Sif is female, too." Thor replied. Jane felt a lump forming in her stomach as Thor continued, "And she is much more capable than you if it came to a fight."

Jane tried not to be insulted. What he said was true, even if it felt more like Thor's meaning stopped at the words 'more capable than you'.

"Maybe that's it? He doesn't want to appear as posing a threat?" Jane said.

Thor contemplated the idea, finally nodding in agreement and saying, "That makes sense."

"What is Vanaheim like?" Jane asked to change the topic. "I've only read about it."

"It's beautiful." Thor said. "People claim the Vanir to be the most striking of all the realms. These people have not met you, of course."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"You will see for yourself next week." Thor said. "I must warn you though, the people can be a bit... odd."

"Odd?" Jane asked.

"Free spirited." Thor said.

Jane raised her eyebrows and Thor blushed.

"What?"

"It is crude, Jane. Too crass to say."

"Now you have to tell me!" Jane exclaimed. _Why was this so embarrassing?_ She wondered.

"They often have orgies at Vanir Court." Thor finally said.

"Orgies?" Jane repeated. Concern started to flare in her, "Will I be expected to participate?"

"No!" Thor said as if it were a forbidden idea. "No, they would never force anything."

Jane let out a breath of relief and Thor laughed.

"I just didn't want you to be shocked when you got there. It's a part of their culture."

"Right, thanks." Jane gave an awkward nod.

"So, you should probably practice your Vanir. If you bring back anything of use, it will likely gain you favor with Odin."

"Do you think so?" Jane asked in a doubtful tone. "I'm pretty sure he hates me."

"I assure you, he does not." Thor said. "Why else would he invite you here to live? Ask you to take the Æsir Oath?"

"But I still won't _be_ Æsir." Jane protested.

"There are ways." Thor said distantly.

Jane knew this already. She had spent so much time reading about the realms—in particular Asgard—she sometimes wondered if she knew more about them than Thor.

"So, this oath," Jane started. "What exactly is involved?"

"Not much." Thor shrugged. "You swear fealty to the king and offer your protection of the realms to Asgard. Then there's a feast."

"But what does it mean? Am I renouncing my ties to Earth or something?"

"No of course not! It's just words, Jane. You already are faithful to us." Thor said reassuringly. He pulled her into an embrace and added, "The only real difference is that you'll have to start calling Odin your king when addressing him."

Jane frowned into Thor's chest. Despite how advanced Asgard was, the concept of having a king still felt medieval to her.

"Not interrupting the beginning of something, I hope." Fandral's voice said into the drawing room.

Thor released Jane and greeted his friend.

"Welcome back, Jane." Fandral said to her with his easy smile. "I was told you require my services for a clandestine mission."

Jane laughed and nodded. "Odin says you're good with foreign tongues."

"The scoundrel!" Fandral grinned and Jane blushed immensely, finally getting the joke. That combined with the orgies and she turned a deeper shade of red.

"Oh god, sorry. I didn't mean..." she said.

"Good grief, Jane, it's only a joke!" Fandral laughed. "Pull yourself together so we can practice your Vanir."

"I will leave you two to your work." Thor laughed and left the room towards the exit of their quarters. Jane wondered if he was going to see Sif, but quickly scolded herself for thinking it.

"How much do you already know?" Fandral asked her as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Some, I mean basic vocabulary and some of the grammar." Jane said. "Jötunn is so much easier to learn."

"Yes, but the Jötnar are much less pleasurable." Fandral grinned. "Well, let's practice a conversation."

Jane nodded and Fandral switched to Vanir. He was nearly flawless at it and Jane became worried she would never catch up. After two hours with Fandral though, she felt better. When he said, "You're really progressing fast. You sure you're not actually Vanir?" to her, she felt even better.

"Doubt I'd be treated like a second class citizen if I was." Jane said.

"Oh, you are not." Fandral said.

"Tell that to Odin." Jane muttered.

Fandral waved his hand, but said nothing. His eyes held concern, or was it fear? _What is going on? Why the sudden fear of Odin from everyone?_ Jane wondered.

"Fandral," Jane said quietly. "Has something changed since I was last here?"

"No, my lady." Fandral said, but he was subtly nodding yes.

Just then a guard entered the room.

"Lady Jane, Heimdall requires your immediate presence." The guard said.

Jane looked at Fandral. His expression had darkened some and he whispered, "Go." in Vanir.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Songs for this chapter: "Shadows of Loki" by Brian Tyler, "Before" by Vök** _

* * *

When Jane got to the Observatory, Heimdall met her at the front. He led her inside and they stood in silence for a long moment looking out at the stars.

At last Heimdall said, "We all grieve differently, Jane. Did you know that Frigga was Vanir?"

"No," Jane was surprised. She didn't realize the Æsir royalty would intermarry.

"Yes, she was born in Vanaheim to a noble family. Decades later, Vanaheim's ruler Njörðr finally had children, the twins Valfreyja and Freyr." Heimdall paused for a long time and Jane wondered if that was all he was going to say. Then he began again, "The story goes that Frigga was betrothed to Odin from her birth and when they met as children they fell immediately in love. When Valfreyja was born alongside her twin brother, the Vanir monarchy wanted their own daughter married into Asgard, so they broke the betrothal of Frigga. As recompense to Frigga's family, they promised her their son Freyr."

Jane waited, but Heimdall said nothing more. Finally she had to know, "What happened?"

"Frigga taught herself true magic so she could marry Odin." Heimdall said simply.

"The kind she used to conceal me from Malekith?" Jane asked.

Heimdall's lips curved into a subtle smile before he said, "That very kind."

Jane nodded, digesting the information. "What happened to Freyr?"

"He tried to marry the Jötunn Skaði, but she detested him and fled the engagement. Now it is rumored that Valfreyja seeks her revenge on Frigga by marrying Freyr to Sif." Heimdall frowned before adding, "Frigga and Sif were very close. Almost like mother-daughter."

"Is this why Odin is sending Sif with me to Vanaheim?" Jane asked.

Heimdall looked at her sharply and his golden eyes seemed to stare through her flesh and into her soul.

"Jane," Heimdall's voice said, but he did not move his lips. "I have linked our minds so that I can see what happens to you on Vanaheim. They cloak many things on that realm from my sight. You were correct in sensing a change here. I fear it is tied to Odin and prophecy. Despite the sacrifice of his eye, he seems to have lost his gift of Mimir. Yet I fear another gift of influence has been gained. Do not speak of this to anyone. Not Thor. Not Sif. Your mind is the only one I can still fully see on Asgard."

Hemidall's voice stopped and Jane blinked a few times, as if something was caught in her eyelash.

"Eat this." Heimdall said out loud.

"What is it?" Jane asked, taking the tiny glowing pill.

"Orka" Heimdall said.

As soon as Jane swallowed it, the irritation in her eye went away.

"Thanks" she said.

"I will see you at the oath ceremony." Heimdall said. "Oh, and Erik says he wants you to build a two-way communication system."

"Does he?" Jane smiled. "I really don't need that falling into the hands of Director Hill. But it's an interesting idea."

"You would have to ask Odin for help. He maintains the design of the Bifröst, not me." Heimdall said.

Jane frowned. That complicated things.

"Thor is looking for you." Heimdall said.

Jane considered asking him if Thor had been with Sif or not, but she decided not to abuse their trust.

"Thank you." Heimdall said.

"Oh," Jane said, realizing her mind was directly linked to his now. Even her thoughts were not private.

"I will keep your confidence, Jane. I always have before." Heimdall said and gave her a nod.

"Thanks," Jane managed a smile. "I'm gonna go find Thor, I guess."

Heimdall laughed but said nothing as Jane left the Observatory specifically intent on going to the library to look up Mimir. She'd often wished in life that people could just be inside of her brain so she wouldn't have to explain everything, but now that someone actually was, she was not a big fan of it. She mounted Glenr and rode back to the city, straight to the library.

~.~.~

The Æsir library was massive. Every librarian knew her by now, but today they of course felt the need to bow and murmur "my lady' to her. She threw them smiles as she beelined it to the indexes. The primary index system was by realm. A model of each planetoid was suspended in the central atrium and you used Æsir 'magic' to call down the realm you were hoping to learn more about. Once called, the index was alphabetical by title in common tongue. Since titles were the core categorical structure, they lacked creativity and simply were what the book's topic was. For instance, the books about the Æsir-Vanir War were all entitled Æsir-Vanir War – Volume I, II, III and so forth. Since a tiny portion of that war was fought on Vanaheim, that volume itself could be found in the Vanaheim index.

But where would she find 'Mimir'?

Heimdall's voice said, "Jötunheim" in her head, causing Jane to jump and her eye to itch. She looked around to make sure no one saw her get frightened by essentially nothing and then called Jötunheim down. It was harder for her because she did not have a lifeforce as a mortal, so she had to use orka to pull the realm indexes to her. The lifeforce was the basic Æsir magic, which everyone here was born with and gave them their long lives, dense bodies, and immunity to Earth diseases. To get lifeforce would be the only way Jane could become like them. The only way to be Thor's equal.

There was only one route Jane knew of to lifeforce, which was to eat Iðunn's apple. The average lifespan of an Æsir was 4,500 years, but because they valued dying in battle so much, they had an orchard of apples to restore the consumer's lifeforce for another lifespan. This way the nobles could die literally only in battle.

The orchards were hidden on Asgard and only accessible to Iðunn herself and whoever was the ruler of Asgard at that time. If Jane wanted to become Æsir, something she had not truly decided, Odin would have to give her the apple.

She let out an annoyed sigh at the thought and spun the massive Jötunheim planetoid until she came to the letter 'M'. There was one book called _Mimir_. She memorized the call number, which was actually a series of symbols and not numbers like on Earth, and went to retrieve the book.

It was in a very public area of the library right near the entrance, so she brought it to one of the quieter spaces that she often retreated to. She drew her legs into the comfortable sitting chair and opened the small volume.

It was a basic history, stunted and full of drawings, like most of the Jötunheim collection, and she skimmed until she came to a part that stopped discussing the great deeds and victories the Æsir had over the Jötnar and started to explain what the heck Mimir actually was. Jane swore that based on the library's accounts, no Jötnar could even be alive given how many the Æsir had claimed to slaughter. She vaguely wondered if Jötunheim had a library and if it too contained so much propaganda. She remembered Heimdall was in her head and thought an apology in his direction. He gave no response and she wondered if he had mentally checked out for the time being. He only wanted to see Vanaheim anyway. She focused back on the book.

_"Mimir is the well at the base of Jötunheim under the root of Yggdrasil. It is one of the Three Wells and gives its drinker the eternal ability to see the looms of the Norns who weave beside it."_

_So Odin can see fate._ Jane realized. _Or he could._

She returned the book to its shelf, sensing that with all this talk of the völva it was unwise to be caught reading this topic. No sooner had she replaced it then she heard Thor's voice calling her. She spun to face him, plastering a smile on her face.

"Hey!" she said. "I was just about to come find you."

"We need to practice your oath for tomorrow." Thor said, taking her hand into his.

"You said it was just words?"

"Spoken in front of a lot of people!" Thor pointed out.

"Oh." Jane hadn't thought about that part.

"You'll be fine." Thor assured her. "As long as you practice."

Jane let Thor lead her back to their quarters, her mind completely uninterested in oath taking practice.

Fandral was still there when they arrived, along with Volstagg and Sif. The group was drinking wine and in the middle of a friendly debate as Jane and Thor entered the room.

"Here's Thor, he'll know!" Fandral said.

"He hadn't arrived yet!" Sif protested.

"Come now, what is the wager?" Thor smiled, dropping Jane's hand to pour himself some wine.

"Fandral claims he killed thirty men in the first ten minutes of the Esja Forest Battle. But I know it to be impossible because the masses did not arrive until after you were there." Sif said.

"Surely Fandral could've killed so many so quickly?" Thor remarked, a playful grin on his face.

"It is not a matter of that!" Sif protested. "There were simply not that many men to kill."

"I remember the Esja Forest Battle quite well, Sif." Thor said, putting a hand on Fandral's shoulder before continuing, "And he certainly killed at least thirty men in the first ten minutes."

"You weren't even there!" Sif exclaimed.

"Not to bring it down, guys," Jane said. "But Sif's right. I read about this battle last time I was here and, Thor, you didn't get there until the second day."

Volstagg rolled with laughter.

"See!" Sif said and then gave Jane a nod, "Thank you. Finally some justice around here."

"Whoo!" Fandral hooted through laughter. "Your mortal is worse than Loki was. All reading and no action."

"Fandral," Thor scolded. "Apologize."

"I'm only joking, Jane." Fandral smiled at her and held out his glass of wine. "Here, have some. It'll be good practice for Vanaheim."

Jane took the glass and wiped the rim somewhat dramatically before saying in an explanatory tone, "I don't want the germs of _every_ foreign tongue."

The group burst into laughter at this remark and Jane took a healthy swig of the Vanir wine. It was smooth like a pinot noir and she easily finished off the remaining portion before pouring herself another glass.

Fandral helped himself to one as well given that Jane now possessed his, and Jane settled next to him on the couch.

"Honestly, Jane, and don't tell Thor," he began in a volume they could all hear. "But no one could be worse than Loki."

"No?" Jane said. She looked away from Fandral towards the open doorway to her study and added, "I thought Loki was very brave, actually."

"Ha!" Fandral exclaimed.

Volstagg snorted, causing him to choke on his wine and begin coughing.

"Jane, you only knew him for a short time." Sif said quietly, trying to give Jane some comfort against the boys' reactions.

Jane gave her a weak smile and then looked at Thor. He met her eyes and looked away. They had only once talked about Loki's death. In some ways Jane was glad. Her version of events surely differed from his and the reality she now lived with was that Loki—not Thor—had saved her life on Svartalfheim.

Thor instead would only speak of older, fonder memories of Loki. All of them stemmed from before Thor had met Jane. Anything Jane knew of Loki from the time of Thor's banishment until she met him on Asgard had been explained in pieces by a drunken Fandral. Fandral held a particular disdain for Loki, Jane had noticed, but also an enduring fascination. As if he needed to solve the mystery that was Loki.

Jane set down her wine glass and said to Thor, "Should we practice the oath?"

"Yes, of course." He said, smiling faintly, still clearly lost in some old memory of Loki. He disappeared briefly to his chambers.

"Did you guys have to do this?" Jane asked the group.

"No, Æsir are born into it." Volstagg said. He leaned over to grab some cured meat from the platter on the table. It looked like leftovers of what they'd had for lunch.

"Here are the words." Thor said, laying a piece of parchment in Jane's lap.

Jane recognized Sif's handwriting immediately and gave her a brief smile of thanks, which Sif returned. Jane realized that she had been right to think Thor had gone to see Sif, but only because his handwriting was so illegible. She began to read the words on the parchment.

_I, Jane Foster, daughter of Midgard, hereby offer my protection to the Nine Realms in all my capacities and do solemnly swear my allegiance to Asgard and its prosperity. I pledge my fealty to Odin Borsson, King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms._

"Seems straightforward enough." Jane said, looking up at Thor who had sat on the couch across the table from her.

"Good," he smiled at her. "Now practice it for us."

"In front of everyone?" Jane said, slightly anxious. She considered public speaking one of the worst activities to exist and would prefer to practice alone or just with Thor.

"There will be a thousand times as many people tomorrow." Thor said.

"You're the first mortal to take the oath." Fandral said, nudging her knee with his own. "It's a bit of a spectacle."

"Fandral, honestly, she's nervous enough as it is." Sif said. "Can't you just learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes!"

"Okay," Jane said and took another swig of wine. She read from the parchment, stumbling on a few words, 'fealty' in particular.

"Well done." Thor said. "Now try again, but without reading from the parchment the whole time. You'll need to memorize it by tomorrow."

Jane nodded, drank more wine, and said it again.

"Very good!" Odin said, entering the drawing room unannounced.

Everyone stood quickly and bowed. Odin waved his hand to put them at ease and looked directly at Jane, "I would rather you practice your Vanir than the Æsir Oath."

"Then I will practice my Vanir." Jane replied to Odin in Vanir.

Sif's eyes widened at Jane's lack of propriety and Jane could see Thor tense up in her peripheral. Odin cocked his head slightly, maintaining his intense stare at Jane, and then walked effortlessly to her. She inclined her head into an immediate bow. Sif put an arm across Thor's midsection to stop him from leaping across the table.

Once in front of her, Odin's hand moved over Jane's cheek and his index finger hooked under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. Her heart pounded with fear. She had never been this close to Odin before. He smelled differently than she'd expected, not like a cloying incense of clove or sandalwood, but more like melting snow on an alpine meadow or the wet bark of an ancient fir. His scent was familiar to her, but she could not place why.

"Perhaps you are not as worthless as I thought." Odin said to her in Vanir.

Jane said nothing, but held the piercing gaze his single blue eye.

"You spoke of Loki earlier." Odin said in common tongue, still touching Jane's chin. "Why?"

"I said that he was brave." Jane said, her voice trembling only slightly.

"Bravery was not a trait Loki embraced." Odin said wryly, dropping his hand from Jane and turning away.

"You don't have to embrace a trait to find it within yourself." Jane said.

Odin turned back to her sharply, studying her expression before assessing her body language.

"No." he said. "You may make a true Asgardian after all, Jane Foster."

Jane fought to keep her smile from stretching beyond a subtle movement.

After a moment Odin turned to leave, stating, "Thor, I need you." as he went.

Thor looked at Jane with a bewildered, but somewhat impressed expression before following Odin from the drawing room.

Everyone sat once they were gone. Jane slid onto the soft cushions feeling somewhat out of her body. She could feel Fandral's arm around her shoulder, rubbing it purposefully, as if to snap her back to reality.

Finally Jane said, "Oh my god."

Everyone laughed lightly, almost in an exhale of tension.

"You have a death wish, my lady." Volstagg said.

"Yeah," Jane breathed.

"I don't know," Fandral said, removing his arm from her shoulder. "Odin seemed quite taken with her."

"Fandral!" Sif said, sounding disgusted.

"Family trait?" Fandral teased.

"Fandral!" Jane exclaimed, pushing him away from her.

"Hey, I speak Vanir. I know what he said to her." Fandral said.

"I too speak Vanir." Sif said. "Perhaps Jane will prefer to practice with me, given your propensity for crudeness."

Jane could think of nothing more awkward, but she nodded.

"It would be helpful since we'll be there together." Jane said.

"Sif only speaks formal Vanir." Fandral said. "If you want to collect all the dirt, you need me."

"I do not think Jane wishes to imagine how dirty you are." Sif teased.

"What about Hogun?" Jane asked, ignoring the jabs. "Isn't he from Vanaheim?"

"Yes, but he will not be at the palace when we visit. He is needed with his family." Sif said.

"No, I mean, why can't he spy for us?" Jane said.

"The völva are women." Sif reminded her. "Besides, Hogun is not much of a conversationalist."

"Then why not bring Fandral? He speaks Vanir and enjoys Vanir women." Jane said.

"Conflict of interest." Fandral said and winked. "If they learned I was spying, they'd never let me back in their orgies."

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Jane, I am sure Odin has good reason for only sending us to Vanaheim." Sif said. "I would not continue to second guess it."

Jane smiled warily and drank more wine. It was in her nature to second guess everything, no matter how clear it was. That was science. A constant questioning of everything. Asgard was not full of scientists though. She wondered, and not for the first time, if it would be more difficult to fit in here than on Earth.

* * *

Sif intended to stay only until Thor returned from his meeting with Odin, but after the wine ran out, Fandral and Volstagg left, and practicing Vanir with Jane quickly grew old. As the hours ticked by, she could sense Jane wanted to be alone.

"Thank you for hosting me so long." Sif said standing and smoothing out her dress.

"I'll let Thor know you were waiting for him." Jane said.

"Oh, but I was not." Sif said quickly, shocked at Jane's perception.

"Of course, sorry." Jane replied as quickly. "Thanks for the Vanir practice."

"Of course, any time." Sif said.

They smiled and bowed to each other before Sif left the room. She hurried to her own quarters, wishing to bathe and drink some water. She felt foolish for staying so late and was admonishing herself when an arm pulled her into a dark corner of the hallway that led to her chambers. She attacked the body of the arm's owner, but he countered her in a way that only Thor knew how to do, so Sif relaxed.

"We need to talk." Thor whispered in her ear.

Sif felt a mixture of panic and lust at the warmth of his breath on her skin. She wondered if he would berate her for staying in his chambers so long. If he knew she had been waiting for him as plainly as Jane seemed to know. A different part of her hoped he would press her body against the nearby column and kiss her in the shadows.

"About?" Sif finally managed to whisper back.

"Vanaheim" Thor whispered. "Where can we go that is private?"

Sif's chambers were in shared quarters with Fandral and Volstagg. Between Fandral's philandering and Volstagg's four young children, they were never private.

"The boats?" Sif suggested. "Or is Odin watching those, too?"

Thor thought it over and shook his head.

"I have an idea though." He said. "Come on."

Sif followed him outside and he called mjölnir to him.

"Hold onto me." He said.

Sif wrapped her arms around his midsection tentatively. She fought to maintain her composure.

"Tighter." Thor urged.

Sif felt a slight thrill move through her at the command. She pulled herself close to his body and he wrapped his free arm around her waist. A moment later they were off the ground, soaring through the crisp night air towards the Askjafjöll range. She looked back towards the palace; its golden spires appeared quite different from the air. On the balcony of Thor's quarters she could see a figure and assumed it was Jane. She knew she should feel guilty, and a small part of her did, but this was Thor's idea, not hers. Besides, what did Odin even mean saying that Jane could be a true Asgardian? Why would he give her such false hope? It seemed only cruel. Jane should not have come to Asgard. She would only get hurt here. It was this thought that triggered the real guilt in Sif, for she was causing part of that hurt for Jane.

Thor landed them at the entrance of a small alcove on the bald face of the main mountain. It could not be reached by climbing. The air was much colder at this altitude and Thor quickly wrapped his cloak around Sif.

"Sorry, I did not think this through in full." He said. "I normally am alone when I come here."

"It is warmer than Jötunheim." Sif smiled and pulled Thor's cloak around her, subtly breathing in his scent from the red fabric. It smelled of his familiar mixture of campfire and freshly polished metal.

Thor laughed and said, "Everywhere is warmer than that dreadful realm."

He ushered Sif into the alcove, which was not large enough to be called a cave, stating, "This will at least get us out of the wind."

Once Sif was tucked safely in the back of the alcove, Thor looked at her with an expression of extreme anxiety.

"What is wrong?" Sif asked, alarmed.

"I need you to promise me something." He said.

"Of course,"

"Protect Jane on Vanaheim." Thor said.

"Of course I will. Is that not the reason I am going?" Sif said.

"Odin knows, Sif." Thor said.

"How?" Sif whispered. There was only one thing Thor could be referencing, and that was her friendship with Valfreyja. The whole rumor that Valfreyja meant for Sif to marry Freyr had been fabricated by Sif, Thor and Valfreyja. The scheme was meant to draw attention from Freyr's true intention, which was to marry the queen of Jötunheim's teenage daughter, Gerðr, once she came of age. Valfreyja knew the Jötnar would never agree to a union with Freyr without coercion, especially after the ordeal with Skaði.

Thor saw the alliance of those two realms as the best way to avoid future wars that Asgard's warriors in turn would have to go clean up. Sif was happy to help Thor, especially if it meant avoiding battles in Jötunheim.

Sif's friendship with Valfreyja was dangerous though, given that Valfreyja practiced völva on a regular basis. She had shared many prophecies with Sif by now, most of which were troubling. Though, one of them saw a future for her and Thor, which she clung to tightly on lonely nights.

The whole plan had been orchestrated by Thor months ago and its key to success was leaving Odin out in case something went wrong and the Jötnar learned the truth. If Odin was unaware of anything, the plausible deniability would ensure any conflict would stay between Vanaheim and Jötunheim.

"I do not know. Heimdall would not betray us." Thor said. "Odin must have a spy we don't know of."

"A sorceress perhaps?" Sif said. Her looked implied one person.

"Lorelei? She's still imprisoned in the silencer." Thor said, shaking his head.

"Why would he tell you this now?" Sif asked. "What is there to gain with us being aware of a spy?"

"I do not know." Thor said. "I just know that this Vanaheim mission is even more dangerous than we initially thought. I cannot believe he's making Jane go."

Thor was shaking with anger.

"I will protect her, Thor." Sif said softly. "You know you can trust me."

"Yes, I know." He said. His voice was calmer than moments before. "Jane cannot know any of this."

"Of course." Sif said.

"Sif," Thor said and moved closer to her.

She looked up at him. His face was close enough to easily kiss.

"I am worried for you." Thor said.

"You worry for my safety in Vanaheim?" Sif smiled. "I am Asgard's best warrior, in case you'd forgotten."

"I had not." Thor laughed.

"Come now, let's get back before someone notices we are gone." Sif said.

Her hand had moved to Thor's chest as she spoke and he covered it with his own. Sif held her breath for a moment as Thor's face lingered close to hers. He then shook his head slightly and moved away. Sif let out her breath and Thor released her hand. She gave him back his cloak.

"Yes, we should go." He said.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and she embraced him again. Moments later they back in the outer palace and untangling their arms.

"Goodnight, Sif." Thor said. "And thank you."

"Goodnight." Sif said.

She turned to go to her chambers, the opposite direction of Thor's, and felt colder here than she had on the mountain, even though the air was mild.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Songs for this chapter: "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" by Muse; "The Throne Is Mine" by Ramin Djawadi** _

* * *

Jane took a deep breath in an attempt to ease her nerves. She and Sif stood just outside the entrance to Iðavöllr Hall, commonly known as the Æsir Court, awaiting their cue to enter the Oath Ceremony. Thor was already inside alongside Odin on the throne's podium. Per tradition, an Asgard warrior would escort Jane into the hall and up to the throne's podium where she would take her oath. Jane would have preferred Fandral to be her escort, but Sif had volunteered and Thor agreed, and that had been that.

"You will be fine." Sif said in a confident voice. "You know this oath perfectly and you only need Odin to be able to hear you. We are all here for you should you require assistance."

Jane looked at her. The room's firelight enhanced Sif's features and Jane took in the contours of her face and the luster of her dark curls. It was not the first instance Jane recognized Sif's full beauty, but the lighting particularly enhanced it in that moment. Jane wondered why Thor paid her any interest when he had Sif right in front of him every day. This thought stemmed from a true curiosity on Jane's end, rather than her own personal insecurities of inferiority.

"Thanks," Jane managed to say with a nervous smile.

Sif rubbed Jane's upper arm a couple of times to comfort her, the way she'd seen Fandral do with success before. Jane looked pale still, even in the firelight, but she seemed to be regaining some color with Sif's gesture, so she continued to rub her arm.

"They are ready for you." A guard said to them after entering the room.

"Thank you." Sif said. She turned her attention to Jane. "Focus on Thor during the procession if that will help calm you."

Jane looked ahead towards the closed golden doors and nodded.

The guards opened the doors and the pair of women entered the vast hall. Thousands of Æsir faces turned to stare at them; to stare at Jane. Even most of the ravens had come and stood perched on top of the columns. Jane swallowed, inhaled deeply, and slowly let out her breath.

She and Sif began to walk down the center aisle and Jane looked ahead to find Thor, but he was too far away for her make eye contact with. She instead looked to the crowd, searching for faces she knew. There were many whose smiling faces popped into view and Jane realized she had made quite a few acquaintances while on Asgard. She was perhaps not out of place becoming a citizen of this realm. Abigæl's smile stood out from the crowd and Jane gave her an easy smile in return.

Eventually they were close enough for Jane to really see Thor in detail. He smiled at them both and Jane found herself looking towards Odin. Once her eye caught his, she could not look away. His expression was kind, soothing to Jane. For the first time since returning to Asgard she felt safe. Odin did care about her. She had spent enough time with him apart from Thor to know that, even if he often seemed cold and removed. Even if he usually treated her like she did not belong in Asgard and certainly not at his royal son's side. In this moment she felt that Odin wanted her there. He wanted her to take the first major step to becoming Asgardian.

Once they approached the throne, Sif left Jane's side to go join Fandral and Volstagg on the stairs. Thor and Heimdall stood opposite them and Jane looked at them now to find their reassuring smiles. She turned her attention back to Odin and then knelt. In all the versions of this moment she had gone over in her head, this one had never occurred. She never thought she would feel so comfortable, so privileged, to be kneeling and ready to swear fealty. Even the word 'fealty' felt incredibly right to her now. Jane wondered what had changed. Why did she feel so safe with Odin all of the sudden?

_Is this the true power of monarchy?_ She wondered. _The ability to make others feel safe?_

She looked up to Odin who was looking down at her in a piercing way, as if his gaze had never wandered. The high lamps of orka reflected in his eye and the gleam gave him a mischievous air. Jane let out a brief smile and then become solemn again, awaiting Odin's direction.

"Jane Foster of Midgard, you come before us today to swear the Æsir Oath?" Odin asked.

"I do." Jane said. Her voice was calm and pronounced.

"Your intentions are true?" Odin asked.

"They are." Jane said.

"Then please proceed." Odin said.

Jane spoke the oath without falter.

After she finished there was brief silence before Odin said, "I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you, Jane Foster, daughter of Midgard, a primary citizen of Asgard."

Shouts of joy and celebration went up from the crowd. Jane stood with a smile wide across her face. She felt right, almost like she was whole. Odin announced the feast, which was the cue that the ceremony had concluded, and Thor rushed to her side.

He hugged her, lifting her slightly off the ground, and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."

The comment left Jane feeling uncomfortable, as if she had never been enough for him before then. She knew that she still was not. She was not Æsir. She was not immortal. Thor's comment left her wondering what he really wanted from her.

Fandral's hug quickly distracted her from this thought. He picked her up easily and spun her around with a laugh.

"Well done!" Fandral said. "Now we can all go eat."

"Volstagg is elated, I'm sure." Jane joked to him.

The small crowd around her all laughed until Odin approached. They quieted and parted to let him pass, all but Thor bowing as they did.

"Jane," Odin said as he approached her. "I am happy to have you as an Asgard citizen."

"I am happy to be an Asgard citizen, my king." Jane said and bowed.

Odin looked at her in a meaningful way and Jane could not help but feel like she had seen that look before, but not from Odin. It was the same look Loki had given her after she punched him the face. It was a look that she read as, _While our goals may be different, we will benefit each other in the end._

Odin put his hand on her shoulder and said, "You are now a daughter of Asgard, too. Do not take such a privilege lightly."

"I would never." Jane said to him.

"I know." Odin said, his mouth creeping into a small smile that almost mimicked a smirk. He looked out to the crowd, his hand still on Jane's shoulder, and spoke from his diaphragm, "Now, let us all join the feast in Valhalla Hall."

* * *

Jane had spent the rest of the week mostly with Fandral and Sif speaking and listening to Vanir. She now stood with travel bag in hand alongside Sif in the Observatory, awaiting Heimdall to open the Bifröst to Vanaheim.

"Do not attempt to communicate with me while there." Heimdall thought into her mind. "Just let me observe what is truly happening in the Vanir Court."

Jane thought back an affirmation.

"Good luck to you both." Heimdall said out loud once the Bifröst was fully powered.

Jane took a deep breath and looked at Sif, whose expression was stern but hinted at anxiety. Jane wondered what they were getting into. Orgies and prophecy, from the sounds of it, but what else? If Sif was worried, then danger surely awaited them on the other end of this portal.

The Bifröst took hold of her body, thrusting her through space-time in a direction she had never been before. In what felt like a single second later, they were landing at Vanaheim's official entry gate. Sif explained all visitors would first pass through the gate before being admitted into Fólkvangr, which was the capital province and the most fortified part of Vanaheim.

"This way." Sif said, walking towards the massive wooden gates that were inlaid with silver.

The gatekeeper asked their identities and purpose. Sif responded for them both and the gatekeeper, who was clearly expecting them, quickly bowed and opened the thick gates.

The landscape shifted dramatically once they were inside the gates. Outside, a dense forest had surrounded the portal, but here crop fields and vineyards stretched for miles. If Fólkvangr was considered rather small compared to rest of Vanaheim, Jane couldn't fathom the extent of the realm's vastness.

"Jane, come, we must ride to the palace with haste." Sif said. "Valfreyja's welcome feast begins in less than an hour. She will not forgive tardiness."

Jane looked to find Sif was not referencing a horse, but rather a boar of immense size.

"Um," Jane didn't even know what to say.

Sif rolled her eyes and grabbed Jane roughly, throwing her onto the back of the boar. As Jane clung tightly to the creature attempting to balance herself, Sif climbed on swiftly behind her with their bags in hand.

"Can you scratch Otta just behind his shoulder blade?" Sif asked Jane.

Jane reached out her hand and lightly scratched the boar in what looked to be the space behind its shoulder blade. The boar wiggled a little and let out a huff.

"Harder, Jane." Sif said. "With Otta, you have to mean it."

Jane scratched as hard as she could and the boar lurched forward into a run. Jane let out a scream as she began to slide off the side with the sudden change in speed, but Sif's arm caught her and pulled her upright.

The wind raced through their hair and Jane attempted to relax into Sif's embrace, but her breastplate was too hard to yield much comfort. She focused instead on the landscape of rolling hills around them. It smelled sweetly of soil and ripening fruit. As they went along she noticed more and more birds in the sky. They had large wingspans and glided rather than flapping their wings.

"Falcons." Sif said close to her ear so the noise would not be lost in the wind. "They are in some ways similar to the ravens on Asgard. But they are guards rather than messengers, keeping watch over the harvest."

"When will the harvest be ready?" Jane asked.

"The First Harvest Moon is four fortnights away." Sif said.

Jane had read about First Harvest Moon, as well as the Second Harvest Moon. They marked the beginning and end of the harvest on Vanaheim and were celebrated by all the realms. Generally the celebrations included excessive consumption of Vanir wine.

After ten more minutes of similar scenery, the boar skidded to a sudden halt. Sif tightened her grip around Jane so she would not go flying forward and then dismounted. She placed their bags on the ground so she could help Jane down. As Jane slid from the boar, she could not understand why they had stopped here. The road remained the same, meandering ahead into the horizon of crop fields. There was nothing around them but fields.

As she turned to ask Sif for clarification, she stopped mid-spin when the boar shape shifted into a gorgeous man right in front of her eyes. His jawline and cheekbones resembled a well-lit and precisely edited photo of a model and the bands of clothing he wore showed off more of his chiseled muscles than they made a fashion statement.

"Hello, I am Otta." The man said to Jane as he leaned down to kiss her on each cheek. "Welcome to Fólkvangr."

"Hi," Jane stammered. The caress of his lips lingered on her cheeks and Jane felt a warmth flow throughout her insides, as if she had drank some brandy.

"Otta, this is Jane Foster of Midgard." Sif said. "Thank you for giving us a ride."

"It is ever my pleasure to be ridden by beautiful women such as yourselves, Sif and Jane Foster of Midgard." Otta smiled at them and then leaned to kiss Sif's cheeks as well. "Come, let us settle you into your chambers."

Otta took their bags from the ground and led them through an orchard of peach trees towards what appeared to Jane to be another crop field. Otta began whispering in formal Vanir, but the words made no sense to her. Suddenly a burst of blinding purple light flashed all around them, forcing Jane to close her eyes to protect them. When she reopened her eyes, they were standing on the landing of a tall stairwell that led down to what appeared to be the trunk of a massive tree.

"What was that?" Jane asked, staring in shock.

"Vanir Light," Sif said, pushing on Jane's back to make her move forward, down the stairs. "It is the Vanir's form of magic."

"Is this your first journey to Vanaheim, Jane Foster?" Otta asked.

"Yes," Jane said. Finally she mustered the courage to ask, "Do all Vanir shape shift?"

Otta let out a calm laugh before replying, "No, Queen Valfreyja wanted to keep me, so she turned me into a hildisvíni. I used to be a mortal, like yourself."

"What do you mean by keep you?" Jane asked.

Otta turned to her, still walking down the stairwell as if going backwards was no different than forwards for him. His eyes brightened as he told Jane, "I am her lover, of course."

Jane attempted to smile at him as if his comment was comforting. Otta merely winked before turning forwards again. Finally they reached the bottom of the stairs and two ornately sculpted silver doors loomed over them. Otta murmured some words in formal Vanir and the doors opened before him.

Once inside Jane's eyes had to adjust to the lighting, but not because it was dark. The high ceilings were carved wood reliefs, depicting scenes of bountiful harvests, key battles of various Vanir wars, and what seemed to be the apocalypse. They were glowing white, lighting the entire hall.

"Is that one of Ragnarök?" Jane asked.

"You know about Ragnarök?" Otta asked, sounding surprised.

"Jane knows about everything." Sif said. Her voice was kind, but Jane could sense the annoyance in it.

_Does Sif actually think I'm an obnoxious know-it-all?_ Jane wondered with a newfound worry, realizing that perhaps nobody on Asgard even liked her at all.

"How convenient to have her in your company then." Otta said in a voice Jane could not determine to be sarcasm or not. He then addressed her, saying, "Yes, Jane, that relief is of the Vanir-related events of Ragnarök. It serves to remind the Vanir that all things will end so we should embrace living fully in each moment."

"What are the columns made from?" Jane asked, noticing the grand hall's columns all appeared to be made of a different type of wood.

"Each column is made from the timber of the lands of Vanaheim." Otta said. "The Vanir Court showcases all of Vanaheim's assets and treasures as a symbol of unity among our vast lands. The Vanir population is much more diverse than Asgard due to the size of our realm. It is much like Midgard in that regard."

Jane nodded, lost in the splendor of the hall, which seemed to stretch on forever in a downward slope. Sif's hand pressed against her back again, pushing her forward. Otta continued to give an abbreviated tour of the hall then led them through branchlike corridors until they stopped at an open door.

"This will be your chamber, Lady Jane." Otta said as he walked into the room and placed Jane's bag on a wooden platform. "I apologize that it is one of our more basic guest accommodations, so should you require anything during your stay, do not hesitate to request it. Pressing the button next to your bed will ensure assistance finds you. The wardrobe of course features extra clothing for every gender in case you invite someone to stay overnight with you. The bath is just down the hallway, but should you require private bathing chambers, please do let me know."

"I should be fine." Jane said.

"I do hope so." Otta said and gave Jane a warm smile before turning to Sif. "Lady Sif, your chamber is just next door, as requested. I took the liberty of preparing your bedding as you requested it during your last stay here with Thor."

"Thank you, Otta. I appreciate your attention to detail." Sif said. "I believe we should freshen up now however, as Valfreyja expects us all quite soon in Sessrúmnir Hall."

"Indeed she does." Otta said. "I bid you both farewell."

He kissed them both on each cheek again and flitted out of the room.

Sif closed the door and motioned for Jane to come to her side. "This is how the lock works. Do not permit any stranger entry while you're here."

Sif demonstrated the complex locking mechanism and then Jane tried it herself. After she successfully locked and unlocked the door twice, Sif nodded to her.

"Jane," Sif said, giving Jane a serious look. "If you need me, just yell. I will hear you through the wall. Should you be unable to yell, make as much noise as you can."

"Why would I be unable to yell?" Jane asked.

"There is a reason Thor did not want you to come here, Jane." Sif said quietly. "It is unsafe for a mortal to be in Vanaheim."

Jane nodded, accepting that this would be the only explanation she would get.

"We must change for the feast." Sif said in a new tone. "This will be the most formal event, Jane, so wear your best travel gown."

She took her bag and gave a reassuring squeeze to Jane's shoulder before leaving the room, which only made Jane more afraid. Once she was gone, Jane immediately locked the door. It seemed imperative.

_Why didn't Thor explain how dangerous Vanaheim is?_ Jane wondered as she moved her travel bag to the massive, plush bed. As it sank into the mattress, she took in the room's décor in more detail. It was hardly basic for Earth standards. The room looked like a massage room in a fancy island spa, but with a luxury bed. The walls were a dark wood, the Vanir equivalent to a cocobolo or mahogany, and there was a citrusy, floral aromatherapy type of scent in the air. She searched for the source of it, but found no ventilation other than an open window with a view to the peach trees. She tried to put her hand out of the window, but found it blocked by some invisible force field that shimmered purple at her touch. _Maybe that vista isn't real._ Jane thought, remembering they had walked downstairs to enter the palace and on a downward slant once inside. They could very well be miles underground.

Jane shuddered, feeling suddenly rather trapped. The quicker she dressed, the sooner she could be back in Sif's protection. She hurriedly unzipped her bag and thumbed through the three dresses she brought. The nicest one, which Sif and Abigæl both advised her to bring, was sandwiched in the middle to best protect it. She shook it out a few times, wishing she could magically de-wrinkle it. She fingered the pale blue fabric's beadwork, which made her think of Frigga since they were the same beads that had lined one of her gowns. The dress had been her first real gift from Thor on Asgard.

Jane pulled off her travel clothes and stepped into the dress. Part of her was glad to be alone while dressing, but part of her quickly realized the value of having someone to tie up the back. After a few attempts, Jane gave up and searched her bag for her hair pins. They matched the beading on the dress and required that she twist the sides of her hair into an almost halo-like style.

There were three mirrors to choose from in the room and Jane laughed as she decided 'Vanir' was where the word 'vanity' came from. After only two attempts she successfully mimicked the method Abigæl used to do her hair. She double-checked her work before heading to the door to get Sif's help with her dress. Sif stood ready and waiting immediately outside her door when she opened it and Jane motioned her inside.

"What did you do?" Sif asked with a laugh as she examined Jane's botched efforts on tying her dress. It was the first time Jane had heard Sif laugh in a genuine way. Their eyes met in the full length mirror and Jane just laughed and shook her head.

~.~.~

"Lady Sif and Lady Jane! This is a momentous occasion!" A stunning woman announced in common tongue as the pair entered Sessrúmnir Hall.

Sif smiled brightly, in a way Jane had only seen her do for Thor, and gripped Jane's elbow to pull her along into the banquet hall.

As they approached the woman, Jane could see just how beautiful she was with radiant hair golden like Thor's, flawless skin, and captivating eyes that hinted at purple in color. Thor had not lied about the Vanir's renowned beauty.

"Queen Valfreyja, it is such a pleasure to be here." Sif said in a voice foreign to Jane.

A man who looked older than Odin sidled up to Valfreyja's side.

"Sister, you have not introduced me to our exquisite mortal guest." The man said.

"Ever my apologies, brother. I am yet to meet officially her myself." Valfreyja said.

"This is Jane Foster of Midgard." Sif said with a saccharine smile plastered on. "Jane, may I present Valfreyja, Queen of Vanaheim, and her twin brother, Freyr."

Jane bowed and the twins laughed.

"Oh, Lady Jane, there is no need to bow here on Vanaheim." Valfreyja said.

"We are not as pretentious and stuffy as your Æsir friends." Freyr said, stepping closer to Jane. "You will find the Vanir to be open and without judgment."

He needled his way quickly into her personal space and took her hand in his, raising it to his wrinkled lips to kiss her flesh. Jane's spine stood on end as she worked not to shudder. She could not believe this was who Sif was rumored to marry, let alone that he was the same age as Valfreyja. The man was repulsive.

"I am famished from our travels." Sif said. Her tone finally hinted at the austerity Jane was accustomed to. "Might we start the feast?"

"We still await our final guest, Skaði." Valfreyja said.

"I did not realize she would be here." Sif said.

"Yet here I am." A sultry voice said from behind them.

Jane turned with Sif to find a woman who looked about her age and had exceptional features. She knew Skaði to be Jötunn from Heimdall's explanation, but this woman was only Vanir in appearance. She had flowing, wild red hair and her cheeks and nose were dusted with freckles that glowed as if they were daylight stars from Asgard's sky. Jane had never encountered such beauty before. She lacked the vocabulary to describe it.

"Skaði," Sif said and inclined her head in a bow. Jane quickly did the same.

Skaði merely nodded in response to them and Valfreyja ushered them all to the banquet table. Here too, the light colored wood was lined with orka and inlaid with some kind of silver metal that seemed trapped in a liquid state, flowing and swirling throughout the carved grooves to form an elaborate woodlands design matching the ornate doors that Jane had seen in the entry.

There were place markers out dictating that Jane sit between Otta and Skaði. Otta was next to Valfreyja and Sif was on the other side of Skaði. She had been placed next to Freyr, who sat at the place opposite the head of the table where Valfreyja sat. Jane wanted to trust Otta, but Sif seemed far enough away to make her feel a bit uneasy with the arrangement.

The remaining spaces at the ten-person table were filled by two beautiful and poised Vanir teenage girls and two Vanir men, who could only be described as eye candy at first glance. Jane realized based on her seat placement, she was a centerpiece for conversation. She took a deep breath and looked around the table to see if there was any wine. Two full carafes of red wine sat in front of Valfreyja and Freyr.

"You are from Midgard?" Skaði asked Jane.

"Yes," Jane said. "And you?"

"Jötunheim." Skaði said. "Though my appearance would suggest otherwise."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, playing the Ignorant Mortal card.

"I appear Vanir except when on Jötunheim or in contact with another Jötunn." She said.

"Why?" Jane asked before realizing it was a rude question. "Sorry, nevermind."

"No," Skaði smiled and shook her head. "It was a gift from Valfreyja. I love Vanaheim, almost like it was my home realm."

"That's nice." Jane said, not knowing what else to say.

Valfreyja and Freyr were pouring their own glasses of wine at the moment, quickly passing the carafes to their right when they finished filling their own glasses. _Not long now._ Jane thought as she eyed the carafe to her left in Otta's hands.

"What is Midgard like?" Skaði asked.

"It's..." Jane began. She was unsure how to sum up her world. "It's young. It's growing, maturing. Sometimes it's terrible and sometimes it's magnificent."

"It sounds fascinating." Skaði said. "What are the men like?"

"Well, I'm dating an Æsir, if that tells you anything." Jane said with a laugh.

Skaði let out a loud, melodic laugh, causing everyone to stop their own conversations and look at them. Jane blushed immediately.

"Whatever is so comical?" Valfreyja asked. It was then Jane realized all conversation was in common tongue, not Vanir. She had not needed to practice her Vanir at all.

"Jane is terribly funny." Skaði said. "Her jokes are timing based, I'm afraid, alas we cannot effectively share."

"Why not try?" Freyr pressed.

Jane saw Skaði tense up at his voice.

"Now, Freyr, we wouldn't want to ruin a good joke with our own selfish needs." Valfreyja said in a scolding tone.

Skaði relaxed a moment later, once it was clear Freyr had nothing else to say on the matter.

The wine reached Jane then and she poured a very full glass for herself before passing the carafe to Skaði. Skaði did not comment on Jane's heavy pour as she passed the wine untouched to Sif.

"How is Jötunheim?" Jane asked her. "It sounds incredible from what I've read."

"Incredible?" Skaði laughed. "That's the first time I've ever heard an Æsir compliment Jötunheim."

"Well, I'm not an Æsir, am I?" Jane said in a lowered voice.

"No," Skaði said, her tone softening into what Jane assumed was her actual voice and not the airs everyone seemed to put on around Valfreyja. "No, you are not."

"So, how is it?" Jane pressed.

"It's cold." Skaði said. "You would die from the elements if you ever went."

"How cold?" Jane asked. "We do have winter gear for extreme weather on Midgard."

"It is so cold that your limbs would break off from the frostbite within minutes." Skaði said, flashing Jane a playful grin. "Why are you so interested in Jötunheim?"

"No real reason," Jane said sipping some wine. "I just find the accounts of Jötunheim limited within the Æsir library and wondered what it was actually like. You're the only Jötunn I've met who was open about their race."

"I see." Skaði said. She was quiet a moment, processing what Jane had not said. There was really only one other Jötunn Jane could have met and Skaði had no desire to discuss Loki. Apparently though, neither did Jane. Skaði grinned brightly at her and said, "I will tell you, Jane. I like you."

"Thanks," Jane said.

"Jötunheim is unlike the other realms. It is the farthest away from Yggdrasil's center and thus the coldest."

"But Yggdrasil has no sun." Jane interjected. "Why should distance matter?"

"Asgard's radiation acts in the same way." Skaði explained. "It is in some ways like Asgard and Jötunheim are temporal opposites."

"Except that Asgard is not warm enough to produce crops the way Vanaheim does." Valfreyja said.

"That is true." Skaði said.

"Ah, here is the feast!" Valfreyja said loudly as Vanir arrived with platters of food.

It smelled rich, like roasted meat and chocolate combined, and Jane wondered what she was in store for. As they served the dishes, Jane noticed that Skaði barely took any food.

"Are you not hungry?" she asked.

"The Jötnar do not require food to sustain ourselves." Skaði explained.

"Then what do you eat?" Jane asked. She tried to remember if Loki ever ate, but they'd really only spent time together escaping Asgard to Svartalfheim. That day had not left much time for food.

"We consume orka to maintain our energy levels."

Jane frowned, thinking of the orka pill Heimdall had given her. _What exactly is orka?_ She wondered.

"Orka is from Jötunheim?" Jane asked, playing the ignorant mortal card again.

"Yes," Skaði said. "It's our primary export."

"Your only export." Valfreyja said.

"Not the only one." Freyr said.

Jane saw Skaði shrink at his words and wondered what had really happened between the two of them to make Skaði flee the marriage. She was acting in a way that suggested she both feared and hated Freyr, but if that was the case, why come back to Vanaheim at all?

"I'd like to make a toast." Sif said loudly in a tone that signaled they were moving on from previous conversation.

"What toast, dear Sif?" Valfreyja asked.

"To prosperity!" Sif said.

Jane couldn't be sure, but it felt like Sif was making this up as she went. She decided to help.

"In all the realms!" Jane added.

Sif looked at her with a surprised smile and Jane smiled back.

"To prosperity in all the realms!" Valfreyja said, raising her glass.

Those around the table echoed her with an added, "Hear! Hear!"

As the dinner party went to refill their wine glasses, Skaði took both Jane and Sif's glasses, offering to refill them. When Sif did not protest, Jane decided this was allowed.

"Jane, tell me of Midgard." Valfreyja asked while Skaði poured her wine.

"What would you like to know?" Jane asked.

"Anything," she said. "It's been ages since I was last there."

"You've been to Earth?" Jane asked incredulously.

"Oh, of course! Did you think the Æsir were the only ones with a portal?" Valfreyja howled with laughter before adding, "Where do you think I found my dear Otta?"

Jane laughed despite not finding any of it funny. She felt Skaði pressing her wine glass into her hand and grasped it before taking a large sip. In her peripheral vision she noticed Sif too was drinking heavily.

"How fares Asgard, Sif?" Skaði asked.

"It fares well." Sif replied with a tight smile.

"Good," Skaði said. "There were whispers of a darkness in the realm. I am glad to hear they are unfounded."

"Indeed." Sif said and drank more wine before adding, "The only darkness on Asgard was more than a year ago during the attacks of the Dark Elves."

"Odin has ruled well since then." Valfreyja stated. "He is more sound minded without Frigga, perhaps."

Sif said nothing, her face remaining emotionless. Jane reached to the beadwork on her dress, shocked at Valfreyja's blatant disrespect of Asgardian royalty. She looked to Sif who turned feeling her gaze. Sif's eyes hinted at grief and anger.

"Mother that was rude." One of the teenage Vanir girls said. She had long blond hair and slightly purple eyes like Valfreyja. The other teenage girl looked to be her sister, based on her bone structure, but had chestnut colored hair instead.

Valfreyja looked to her blond daughter and then smiled, "You are right, Hnoss." She looked to Jane and Sif and added, "I apologize. Frigga was a fine queen and a good wife."

"Thank you." Sif said.

Jane merely nodded.

"My eldest daughter, Hnoss, likes to keep me honest." Valfreyja laughed.

Everyone began to eat again and casual conversation resumed after a moment. Otta engaged Jane in updates of events on Midgard and Skaði began to flirt with one of the Vanir men across the table from her. From what Jane could tell, Sif was stuck listening to Freyr prattle on about some topic she cared nothing about.

As dinner dwindled, Valfreyja clapped her hands twice and announced, "We will move to the lounge to relax."

Jane immediately looked to Sif for guidance, but Sif was still listening to Freyr.

"Come on, they have better wine in the lounge." Skaði said to Jane, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with the group to the hidden door in Sessrúmnir Hall's far corner.

They passed through a vestibule and into a large, opulent space. Orka lined silver wrapped around the room's thin columns like vines, illuminating the room so well it felt almost like midday.

"They love their orka here." Skaði said quietly to Jane.

Jane let Skaði lead her to a barrel of wine and pour them both a glass. They sat somewhat nearby on plush cushions set upon wide benches. As Jane took in the details of the room, she realized that this was the perfect place to have an orgy. She sipped some wine and craned her neck to search for Sif, feeling concerned again for her safety.

"Don't worry about Sif." Skaði said. "She can protect herself from Freyr."

"It's not Sif's protection I am worried about." Jane said.

Skaði laughed and said, "I like you, Jane, and I am by far the most dangerous creature in Fólkvangr. You are safe with me. At least until the orgies begin, then the sexual energy is channeled to Valfreyja enabling her to practice völva. But surely Thor explained this to you before sending you here."

"He did not, actually." Jane said.

"Curious," Skaði said with a frown. "Does he love you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Vanaheim is not a safe place for a mortal. I'm surprised he did not accompany you." Skaði said. "Though I suppose he trusts Sif."

Jane did not reply. It felt like a baited comment the way Skaði delivered it. Almost like something Valfreyja would say. _What is she even doing here?_ Jane wondered again.

Skaði laughed again and said, "Your silence is appreciated. Can I tell you something personal?"

"What?" Jane asked, thinking of Heimdall being inside her head, able to see and hear what transpired around her.

"I think you would make a good Jötunn." Skaði said. "Your curiosity, your stubbornness, your endurance. You have the traits it requires to be what I am. What Loki is."

"Don't you mean what Loki was? He died last year." Jane said. "I'm sorry, did you know him?"

"Loki is dead?" Skaði said surprised. "Are you quite sure?"

"I watched him murdered right in front of me." Jane said and drank more wine. She hoped she was allowed to say such things. No one had ever told her to keep it a secret.

"By the Dark Elves?" Skaði asked.

Jane nodded.

"We thought he had gone away again, like before when he went to the Chitauri leader before going to Midgard." Skaði said sounding slightly lost in thought. "You are certain he is dead?"

"Yes." Jane said. "Why?"

Skaði shook her head slightly and then said quietly, "I should have felt it. We are from the same tribe."

"I'm sorry." Jane said softly.

"Jane! There you are." Sif's voice interrupted the moment as she approached Jane and Skaði. "We must leave now and see you back safely to your chamber."

"I will come with you two." Skaði said. "I'm heading to the portal to go home. I refuse to remain here once they seal the palace. Everything becomes terribly dreadful after that."

"You are from Jötunheim. You should be used to dreadful things." Sif said.

Jane looked at Sif reproachfully and Sif rolled her eyes. She would not apologize to a Jötunn.

"Let's go, Jane." She commanded.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M rating for mild violence (assault) and implied sexual abuse (underage).

* * *

_**Songs for this chapter: "Fantasy" by MS MR; "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" by Muse** _

* * *

As Sif, Jane, and Skaði moved towards the lounge's side exit they crossed paths with Valfreyja who stopped them.

"Leaving so soon?" she inquired.

"I am escorting Jane back to her chamber." Sif explained.

"Skaði, you do not wish to stay for tonight's festivities?" Valfreyja asked.

"I am needed back on Jötunheim tonight, unfortunately." Skaði said apologetically. "You do recall that I am leader of my tribe since Laufey's death, right?"

"Of course I know that, Skaði." Valfreyja said with an easy smile. "I am so glad you could join us this evening though. I do hope you find more time to frequent the realm as you used to."

"Yes, I wish I could." Skaði said with a tight smile.

"Sif, please come find me at some point. I need to give you the harvest report for Odin." Valfreyja said breezily as she moved away from them into the lounge. Sif could hear her call out, "Otta, be a dear and fetch me some wine, love."

Sif and Skaði hurried forward and Jane did not need any prodding on the back to move as quickly as the two immortals beside her. They walked in silence, all lost in their own self-centered thoughts until they arrived at Jane's guest chamber.

"Ah, they put you in the basic room, how conniving." Skaði remarked, eying the door. She looked at Jane and added, "If the scent changes from citrus, open the door."

"Why?" Jane asked.

"It means you're being drugged. The door is the only ventilation in that room." Skaði said plainly.

Jane looked at Sif whose eyes were wide.

"Why would they put her in a room that could harm her?" Sif demanded. "Is Asgard not friends to Vanaheim?"

"Surely you are, but is Vanaheim friends to Asgard?" Skaði said. "Why did Thor not accompany you two here, Sif?"

"That concerns neither you nor Jötunheim." Sif said shortly. "Goodnight, Skaði."

Skaði laughed and then looked at Jane, "I know Odin prohibits it now, but I do hope you get to visit Jötunheim one day. I meant what I said earlier about you. It truly has been a pleasure meeting you, Jane Foster."

"And you, Skaði." Jane said.

Skaði nodded to them both and then turned to walk down the hallway, upwards towards the labyrinth leading to the entry hall and palace exit.

Sif opened Jane's chamber door and shoved her inside.

"Lock the door." she told Jane. "Don't let anyone in but me."

"Do you believe her about the room?" Jane asked.

"Of course not," Sif said hastily. "Skaði is from Loki's tribe. Their defining trait is an innate ability to lie."

"She didn't appear to be lying." Jane said.

"And this is precisely why it is a blessing you never truly had to deal with Loki." Sif said in a condescending tone. "Goodnight, Jane."

Jane started to respond, but Sif shut the door in her face before she could. Sif closed her eyes and sighed quietly, relieved to be free of Jane's company until morning.

"Yes, you would do best to keep her locked up." Skaði's voice said from far down the hallway at a volume too low for Jane's mortal ears to hear through the door.

Sif spun to face her, pulling her sword as she approached Skaði.

"Do not go near her, icy scum." Sif hissed at her.

"Oh you must love this. The mighty Lady Sif babysitting Thor's mortal lover because his daddy forbade him to come here. Odin must be desperate for her to die sending her here so unprotected." Skaði said, narrowing her eyes as she stood against the blade of Sif's sword. "But would that not be easier for you, Sif? Thor would believe an accident. You almost convinced me when you acted like you didn't know her chamber could be drugged."

"There was no convincing to be had as I did not know that." Sif said coolly. "You have been much deeper inside the Vanir than I, Skaði."

"Your former Vanir lover, the rebound from Thor, would beg to differ." Skaði said with a placating frown. "But just between us, he wasn't the best Vanaheim has to offer."

"Any Vanir is an improvement over Loki, I presume." Sif said with raised eyebrows. She knew Loki had scorned Skaði a few years back, right around the time Skaði broke her engagement with Freyr.

"I believe our mutual hatred for Loki is the only thing we have in common, Sif." Skaði said with a light laugh.

"Good thing he is dead." Sif said.

"Yes, good thing." Skaði said slowly, trying to calculate if Sif was lying or not. She decided she was not and that Asgard believed Loki to be dead. "Though, since you are curious, I'll admit he was a superior lover. You did miss out while being so consumed with his pathetic brother. Loki always fancied you a little bit, I'm sure you realize."

"Don't you have a frozen wasteland to tend to?" Sif said, pulling her sword back slightly.

"Yes, and you have Thor's mortal lover to tend to, I believe." Skaði grinned and lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning towards Sif so her chest was touching the sword's blade again. "Better keep an eye out for Iðunn's apples while you're here. Valfreyja hoards them. Jane might snatch one up without knowing what it is, and then where would you be?"

"Leave now." Sif commanded moving her blade to Skaði's neck. A trickle of her blood seeped from the shallow cut Sif made, dirtying the steel.

"You are in love with a racist, Sif." Skaði hissed gripping the sword's blade like it was made of rubber. She broke off the blade and threw it aside. After the clanking of the metal on marble tile died down she said icily, "You mimic his ways like a child desperate to be loved. You followed him to my realm and slaughtered my people because he thought it would be fun. You pride yourself on being Asgard's only female warrior, but my people must all be warriors due to your realm's constant persecution. For that you will suffer."

Sif extended the other blade of her double-sided sword and swung it into Skaði's gut. "I said leave."

Skaði's eyes turned bright red as her Vanir guise faded to her true Jötunn form under the blow of Sif's blade. She grinned, pulling the sword from her body. She reached to the wall and pulled some orka from the veins of the woodwork, consuming a handful of it. Her skin drifted from Jötunn blue back to a Vanir glow and purple light emanated from the wound in her stomach, healing it. She shook her head at Sif a few times, then turned on her heel and walked away.

As she watched her leave, Sif wished Skaði's words would not affect her so much, but they did. _I am not some lovesick puppy for Thor and the Æsir do not persecute the Jötnar!_ She fumed as she picked up her broken blade from the floor and cleaned it on her sword cloth. _Is it Asgard's fault the Jötnar choose to attack realms for no reason? No! It is our duty to clean up their mess and keep them in line._

She reattached the blade to her sword's shaft, using her Æsir magic to rebind the two together. As she cleaned the other blade, she rolled her eyes thinking how Jane would have felt it necessary to correct her use of the word 'magic' with the word 'lifeforce' or 'radiation'. Sif remembered that Skaði had used the word 'radiation' with Jane at dinner. _The two speak the same stupid language of science._ Sif mused. _Maybe I should have sent Jane off with Skaði. She would likely ask so many questions that Skaði would kill her before the frostbite could._

This thought gave Sif the laugh she needed to refocus on tonight's task, even if it was slightly too morbid for her to be comfortable with herself deep down for thinking it. Jane might be as obnoxious as Loki always had been, but she did not wish her dead. She sheathed her cleaned sword blades and shook her head to clear it before hurrying down the hallway back to the lounge.

Her personal purpose for coming to Vanaheim was to get an update on Odin's and Thor's prophecies. Thor requested she get an update on Asgard's future. The last time they were here the reading for the realm had been bleak. After she returned to Asgard with Lorelei, Odin's spying had increased ten-fold. Clearly he felt something on their realm was wrong. Unfortunately Valfreyja had hinted that Jane would be the one to bring about the change required on Asgard.

Valfreyja promised that Jane would not be an issue for Sif and Thor, but with Odin's sudden interest in Jane, this seemed fallible. Especially now that Odin knew of her friendship with Valfreyja. Skaði's insinuation that Odin sent Jane here to die might have been accurate if Odin did not know Sif and Valfreyja were working together. But he did know, so clearly he did not wish for Jane to be killed here. Sif let out a groan as she turned down the final hallway leading to the lounge. _Why must Odin be so complicated?_

Sif knew she had to find Valfreyja before the night's orgy was in full swing. Valfreyja's power was triggered mostly by sexual energy, and Sif knew getting real conversation from her would be nearly impossible once the orgy began. As the orgies occurred, their sexual energy filtered into the orka turning it purple. It flowed from throughout the palace directly to the völva room. To gather the most power, the Vanir sealed off the palace during orgies. Sif checked the walls and saw the orka was still white. There was still time to find Valfreyja.

As she passed a private drawing room next to the lounge, a movement inside caught her eye. She looked to find Freyr with Valfreyja's youngest daughter, Gersemi. He saw her and smiled his weasel-like grin, motioning for her to join them.

"I am looking for Valfreyja. Do you know where she is?" Sif said remaining in the doorway. The drawing room had no orka and was dimly lit by fire. Even in the poor lighting Sif thought she saw an expression of fear on Gersemi's face.

"Please, Sif," Freyr said and began to walk towards her. He moved into the hallway and closed the door behind him. "If we are to put on this charade, at least make it convincing on your end."

"That was not the agreement." Sif said coldly. It was in this moment Sif realized that Skaði had not for a second acted like Sif and Freyr were meant to be engaged. The charade was not even working.

Freyr approached her now, his arm extending towards her body. Sif backed away from him but he pursued her. As she reached for her sword, Freyr punched her in the face and quickly gripped the wrist of her sword hand, pinning it to her chest. He shoved her against the hallway's wall, disabled her other arm in a similar way, and leaned in closely to her face.

The foul stench of his breath encompassed the air around her as he spoke, "You will be convincing about this, my lady. I will see to it on this visit."

"Is that a threat?" Sif said.

"It's a promise." Freyr sneered and then kissed her on the lips forcefully.

A flash of purple light illuminated the hallway and Freyr's body went flying. Sif turned to see Valfreyja approaching her.

"Apologies for my horrific brother. Come, Sif, we have things to discuss." She said.

"Gersemi remains in the drawing room." Sif said with urgency.

"That is her choice." Valfreyja shrugged. "She will leave if she wishes."

Sif followed her past Freyr's incapacitated body, which still writhed in pain from the strike of Vanir Light, and onward into the lounge. The lounge was hardly recognizable from when she had left it. At least a hundred Vanir were lying around on plush furniture and rugs. They were all mostly naked by now and some people were kissing, though the orgy had not officially started yet.

"You may begin." Valfreyja commanded as she and Sif passed them. A pleased murmur and laughter went up from the crowd.

"Close the door." Valfreyja said as they entered her völva chamber.

Sif closed the door and became overcome with her concern for Asgard and for Thor, as if the room drew out all her emotions. She began to cry.

"What troubles you?" Valfreyja asked her.

Sif looked up at her with tears in her eyes, "I worry everything is lost. The hush of fear plagues Asgard."

"Not at all, child. The prophecy is already in motion with her arrival there." Valfreyja said.

"The mortal Jane?" Sif whispered. "But she retains Thor's love."

"Her feelings for Thor wane with the summer. I have seen her prophecy and soon she faces a long winter." Valfreyja said. "On the evening of your return to Asgard, the mortal child will leave."

"And what of Odin?" Sif asked.

"Odin is shrouded in a darkness that continues to grow. Even I cannot see his future."

Sif wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"And Thor?" she whispered.

"I cannot see Thor." Valfreyja replied equally quiet. "But do not despair, Sif. The Norns have begun to spin a golden yarn from their wool, and light will return to Asgard."

~.~.~

When Sif slammed the door shut in her face, Jane had locked it and done a more thorough search for the source of the citrus scent. After twenty minutes she still could not locate it. Finally she gave up and dug the book she'd brought from the Æsir library out of her suitcase. It was on astronomy, but covered the space outside of Yggdrasil. She was in the section about the Milky Way's closest spiral galaxy, Andromeda, which according to the Æsir was very much inhabited. Jane could not wait to see Erik's reaction when she told him this.

An hour later, while reading a chapter about the Nova Corps and their capital planet Xandar, she felt suddenly exhausted. She breathed in tentatively and noticed the citrus scent was gone. She immediately held her breath and rushed to the door, fighting to keep herself awake. A slight panic set in as she fumbled with the complicated locking mechanism. Finally it released.

She threw open the door, gasping for air. No one was outside. The orka lining the walls was glowing purple instead of white and Jane wondered if that was normal. She shut the door behind her and went down the hallway to the bathrooms. She needed to brush her teeth anyway.

The bathroom was massive and covered in white marble with appliances made entirely of what looked like copper. Jane walked to the sinks and found packaged toiletries in baskets like you would in a hotel. As she unwrapped a toothbrush she wondered if Otta had appointed the bathroom. It was too Earthlike.

When Jane emerged from the bathroom, she saw a figure standing outside of her room. She could not make out who it was, but they appeared to be wearing a dress. She considered going back into the bathroom to wait until the person left.

"Jane?" a female voice called to her.

Jane saw no other choice but to reply to her. "Yes, who is there?"

"It is Hnoss." The girl said beginning to walk towards her. "Valfreyja's daughter. We met at dinner."

"Yes, I remember." Jane said.

Hnoss was visible now, her flowing blond hair seeming to glow a light purple in the proximity of the orka on the walls' woodwork. Once Hnoss was in front of her, Jane could see her eyes were now a vivid, shimmering purple, almost iridescent.

"Valfreyja wishes to see you." Hnoss said in a calm tone. "If you are not too tired."

Jane hesitated. In no way did she trust any of this, but it was also the reason Odin had sent them here.

"Where's Sif?" Jane asked.

"Lady Sif is with Freyr, of course." Hnoss said.

"With Freyr?" Jane asked surprised. "Doing what?"

"They are to be engaged. I trust your imagination will work out what they are doing." Hnoss said plainly.

Jane could not mask her disgust at this thought. Hnoss did not react to her though. Instead she reached for Jane's hand and said, "Won't you come see Valfreyja?"

Jane thought about Odin's look from the Oath Ceremony. If she could learn something tonight, anything of remote use, it would seal his approval of her. She remembered that Heimdall was in her mind and thought towards him, _If this is how I die, at least you will know._

"Yes," Jane said. "I will come."

~.~.~

Sif left Valfreyja's völva room feeling conflicted with the news. She walked through the orgy back to the side exit, pausing a moment when her former Vanir lover called her name. She waved him off and continued to the exit. Once in the hallway, she noticed Freyr was no longer lying helpless on the floor. She picked up her pace as she headed for the drawing room to check on Gersemi.

The girl was alone in the room and Sif walked over to her.

"Are you all right?" she asked Gersemi.

"Yes," she replied quietly. "I am waiting out the orgy."

"Are you too young to join?" Sif asked.

"Too powerful." Gersemi said before explaining in a whisper, "My völva's power outshines even that of Valfreyja's. She locks me in this room to stop it from interfering with her practice. The room has no orka, as you can see. It also blocks the use of Vanir Light."

"And Freyr?" Sif asked. "Why was he in here before?"

Gersemi looked at Sif with cautious eyes.

"Did he harm you?" Sif asked.

"I will not speak ill of your future husband." Gersemi said. "That would be a terrible crime."

"Please, I would rather be warned." Sif said, trying to maintain a trustworthy voice with Gersemi. Inside she was livid.

Gersemi closed the door from her seat on the couch by using magic, a flash of green filling the dark room as she did. Sif stared at her, worried now for her own safety. Even her warrior's strength was no match against true magic.

"Do not be afraid, Lady Sif. I do not seek to harm you." Gersemi said and smiled sweetly. "The room is charmed for privacy. With the door closed, nothing we say can be heard outside these walls."

"When did you receive true magic?"

"At birth." Gersemi said, waving her hand to reveal the elven ears she normally concealed with magic. "My father is Ljósalf."

"And Hnoss?"

"She is full Vanir. A useless puppet of my mother's, but set to inherit the throne." Gersemi scowled. "That is why I need your help."

Sif nodded slowly, hesitantly. _Why does everyone on Vanaheim seem to need my help?_ She wondered.

"First you must promise not to marry Freyr. He is a terrible man." Gersemi said.

"Our engagement is a farce. I never planned to marry him." Sif said to the girl who seemed much older than she remembered. "How old are you now, Gersemi?"

"I celebrate my fifteenth Quinquagenary this winter." She said. "I am the same age as Gerðr of Jötunheim."

Sif stiffened. It could not be coincidence that Gersemi brought up Gerðr.

"Yes, I know of the sham, Sif." Gersemi said. "Just after Skaði fled her engagement to Freyr, Odin was foolish enough to allow Freyr a glass of mead in Valaskjálf. Freyr talked the All Father into allowing him a glimpse into Yggdrasil from the high seat, Hliðskjálf, telling him he wished to find Skaði on Jötunheim to see how she fared. Instead he saw Nál's daughter Gerðr. Now hers is the only name he will speak."

Sif looked at Gersemi, unsure how to react to all of this. Finally she said, "Odin did not know what Freyr intended."

"Do not all men know? They all know and yet they turn the other way. 'I am not the rapist,' they must think to themselves. They must hold themselves in such high regard." Gersemi looked Sif directly in the eye and added, "Their silence condemns them."

Sif said nothing. She could not disagree with Gersemi.

"Like you, I care little for the Jötnar, but I cannot allow for Freyr to abuse someone else the way he does me." Gersemi continued.

"What do you mean?" Sif said softly.

Gersemi let out a cruel laugh before saying, "When Loki came to Vanaheim, naively I thought that he was the Asgardian sent to save us from Freyr's cruelty and Valfreyja's power. I remember seeing him enter the palace and testing his magic when he thought no one was watching. I was wrong though. He only came for vengeance against his Æsir family and then quickly found Skaði. She of course was relieved for his arrival, sensing her salvation from Freyr could be positioned from Loki. She was right. When they left for Jötunheim together, Freyr turned his attention to me."

"When was that?" Sif asked. She had never heard this version of the story before. Guilt spread heavily through her as she realized Skaði's accusations of Asgard had not been so unfounded. They were the guardians of Yggdrasil, yet allowed such horrors to occur within it.

"Three years ago." Gersemi said. Seeing Sif's appalled reaction she added, "Do not concern yourself for me, Sif. Every time that man touches me, I remove another lifespan of Iðunn's apples from his soul. He will soon be dead. Rape is not a crime on Vanaheim. There is no Vanir word for it. This is my only way to justice without being tried for murder. I am trusting you with this secret."

"How do you want me to help then?" Sif asked. A person who practiced true magic was not to be crossed or betrayed. That she would keep Gersemi's secret had little to do with trust.

"Surely Valfreyja has explained that upon your return Jane will leave Asgard and you and Thor will be together again?" Gersemi said and waited for Sif to nod. "I want you to control Thor's decisions regarding Vanaheim. Asgard has allowed such isolation here, if it continues the entropy can only increase, rendering this regime extinct. Ensure he does this."

"How will I do that?"

"Forgive my treason, but while Thor may come from Odin's tainted bloodline, he will not break his betrothal to you. It was a promise his mother made for him and he will not show disrespect to her now that she is dead." Gersemi said. "You must marry Thor and become queen of Asgard. I know you do not want to be queen."

"I do not." Sif said. "But I will do what I must to protect the realms. It is my sworn duty."

"Do not fail me like all the men before you." Gersemi said.

Sif looked at her pointedly and replied, "I am no man."

~.~.~

As Sif spoke with Gersemi, Hnoss took Jane on the path that led to Sessrúmnir Hall and they passed again through the hall's hidden doorway in the back corner. She led her past the mass of naked moaning bodies in the lounge and Jane tried not to stare at the scores of Vanir all in what appeared to be the throes of sexual ecstasy. They stopped at a door that seemed to glow purple from within and Hnoss nodded goodbye to Jane and left. Jane pushed open the door to find herself blinded by violet light.

"Come forth, mortal child." A voice called from within the light. It sounded like a demonic version of Valfreyja's voice and when Jane moved closer, she saw the light was emanating from Valfreyja. Jane's eyes widened as she saw Valfreyja had six arms.

"Do not be afraid." Valfreyja said. "I only mean to bestow your prophecy."

Jane swallowed hard and forced a nod, unsure how she was even managing to stay standing.

"You are strong, Jane." Valfreyja said. "Your prophecy demonstrates such. It says: _He who loves you will betray you only two times. The first will be to your gain. On the second, you will kill him._ "

Jane trembled, unable to speak.

"Before it is over, you will require this." Valfreyja said and reached out an arm to reveal a bow.

Jane took the weapon, which was heavier than she expected.

"It is steeped in Vanir Light and will prevent the use of true magic when placed around the perpetrator's neck." Valfreyja explained.

"So I'm going to strangle him with a bow?" Jane whispered.

"Many threads remain unwoven. I have spoken your prophecy." Valfreyja's voice shook the room and Jane took this as her cue to flee.

The orgy was still going on as Jane ran from the room. She got lost several times in the corridors trying to find the way back to her guest chamber. Eventually she reversed the path they took to Sessrúmnir Hall earlier and managed to relocate her hallway.

Once inside the chamber she locked the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes. The smell of citrus flooded her nose and she ran through the prophecy again and again, wondering who 'he' was. She refused to think it was Thor because she could not bring herself to imagine having to kill him. But who else loved her?

When Jane finally opened her eyes, she noticed a quiver on the bed full of arrows. She walked to it and fingered the feathers. They were falcon.

There was a knock on her door, which caused her to jump. She put the bow down on the bed next to the quiver and walked over to the locked door.

"Who is it?" Jane asked.

"It's Sif." Sif's voice said.

Jane unlocked the door, permitting Sif to enter. Once she was inside the room, Jane quickly closed and locked the door again. Taking in her appearance, it was clear Sif had been crying.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked her.

"No." Sif said.

"I'm sorry." Jane said. "What happened?"

Sif just shook her head over and over, so Jane pulled her into a hug, uncertain what else to do. Sif let her, relaxing into Jane's arms in a way that gave Jane pause. She and Sif were not this close and they were not exactly on great terms at the moment. Something must be very wrong.

"Here, let's sit down." Jane said, moving them towards the bed and sitting them both down on its soft mattress.

Sif looked like someone had died.

Jane didn't know what to do, so she sat there next to Sif in silence for some time. Finally she said, "I hate Vanaheim."

"Me too." Sif said and looked at Jane. "It is a wretched place with horrible people."

"Has something happened, Sif?" Jane asked again.

"The most terrible thing," Sif said. "I don't know what to do now."

"What terrible thing?" Jane asked.

"Fate" Sif whispered, almost inaudibly.

Jane felt like Sif had struck her own heart. If her fate was to murder the man who loved her, then she should feel as Sif looked—like someone had died.

"I think that some people can live too long." Sif said. "It's not something you can really understand, I realize, but I feel like it is especially true on this realm."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, ignoring the insult to her rather limited lifespan as a human. She knew Sif did not mean it that way.

"Freyr." Sif said with an iciness in her voice. "He has outlived his time."

"He seems rather unpleasant." Jane agreed.

"He is a wretched man." Sif said. There was a vitriolic cadence to her tone that Jane had never heard from her before.

"What did he do to you?" Jane asked quietly.

"To me?" Sif said. "No, to everyone. He is a rapist, Jane. Is that how it's called on Midgard? Never find yourself alone with him. Ever."

Sif was looking at Jane with an intensity that could only be born from truth.

"I won't. I never will." Jane promised. She hesitated a moment before asking, "Did he rape you?"

"No." Sif said. Her expression darkened as she added, "I wish he had actually tried. I would have killed him in such a painful way that even on Asgard they would have heard his screams of anguish."

Jane felt afraid of Sif in that moment, but pretended not to be. Instead she put her hand on Sif's lower thigh, rubbing it to try and comfort her. Sif placed her hand over Jane's and laced their fingers together into a weave of alien flesh.

"You're not alone here." Jane said to Sif, squeezing her hand. "Stay with me tonight. We can leave first thing in the morning."

"Thank you." Sif said softly. A tear fell down her cheek and she swept it away with her other hand. She felt horrible, as though she had betrayed her own self by trusting Thor so readily all this time. She had to know if he knew about Freyr. If he understood what they were doing to Gerðr. If he knew that Freyr was raping his niece and Valfreyja did nothing to stop it. _Would Thor really just turn the other away?_ She wondered. _Do I love a monster?_

"Come on," Jane said and moved to turn down the bed for them sleep.

Sif went to help her and noticed the bow and quiver of arrows.

"What is this?"

"Valfreyja gave me it." Jane said. "She said I would need it."

"These feathers..." Sif said, fingering the arrows' feathers. "They're from Valfreyja's coat that enables her to fly. They are full of Vanir magic. This is a very special gift, Jane."

"I know." Jane said.

Their eyes met and both understood the level of gravity the other was trying to convey.

"Here," Sif said, handing the bow and quiver to Jane. "They are yours to protect."

Jane placed them on the ground next to the side of the bed she was on, her hand lingering on the bow a moment after she set it down.

As Sif began to remove her armor, she finally realized that Jane had disobeyed her command and left the room alone. That she had not been there to protect her when needed and Jane knew it. _Will she tell Thor this?_ Sif wondered. With everything else Sif had to speak with Thor about, it seemed almost irrelevant. If the prophecies were true and Jane was leaving when they returned to Asgard, it would not matter at all. Sif let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to change." Jane said.

"Yes, of course." Sif said. "Is there extra sleepwear in your wardrobe?"

"Yes," Jane said. "Pick your gender."

Sif breathed out a laughed.

Jane laughed as well and pulled the extra set of women's pajamas from the wardrobe. She handed it to Sif and they both turned away from each other to change. Once they were redressed, they climbed into the large bed. They lied in silence for a long time not touching at all until finally Sif reached a hand over to Jane. Jane took Sif's hand in her own and held it. After another ten minutes or so Jane could hear Sif's breathing even out and felt her grip relax.

Jane shut her eyes, hoping to be able to sleep. She could not shake the image of Valfreyja giving her prophecy though. Valfreya's form reminded her of a Hindu god, which one, she couldn't immediately recall.

A sleepless hour later, Jane heard Sif speaking. It took Jane a frightened moment to work out that Sif was talking in her sleep and not to an invisible intruder in the room. She relaxed again and tried to make sense of what Sif was saying.

"Of course we cannot tell her." Sif said. "She cannot know. I know this, Thor. I know."

Jane's ears perked up and she felt her senses go into overdrive at the mention of Thor in Sif's sleep talk.

"I'm sorry." Sif said, almost in a murmur. "Please, Thor, I love you. Please."

Jane's heart did a somersault at this. It wasn't exactly new information to her, but to hear it said aloud made it real.

"She's leaving. She's leaving Asgard." Sif said.

Jane opened her eyes and looked at Sif to make sure she was actually asleep. She appeared to be and Jane wondered what that line meant. Was Jane the person leaving Asgard? It made sense. She didn't think she could stay after what she had learned here. Even if the prophecy was not real, which was hard to believe with the intensity of how it was delivered, she could not risk murdering Thor. Clearly Sif felt there was viable hope for herself and Thor, even if it was at a very subconscious level.

Jane felt settled that she had to go back to Earth once they returned to Asgard. She was certain Tony would let her work for him in New York. Her adrenaline increased a little at the prospect of working with Dr. Banner. All that remained was how to explain any of this to Thor.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Songs for this chapter: "Missing" by The XX, "Reunion" by The XX and "Betrayal" by Brian Tyler** _

* * *

When they returned from Vanaheim, both Jane and Sif were too shaken to want to immediately report to Odin. Though it had been just after breakfast in Vanaheim when they left, it was already evening in Asgard when they got back due to the time change between realms.

Heimdall greeted them both after they landed in the Observatory and thanked Jane through thought. Then he pulled his mind from hers and gave her a nod as she followed Sif out of the Observatory. She and Sif mounted their horses, which had been summoned for them by Heimdall, and rode back towards Asgard.

While on the Rainbow Bridge, Sif said to Jane, "Will you agree to visit Odin in Court first thing tomorrow morning instead of tonight?"

"That would be ideal." Jane said and smiled at Sif, feeling much more comfortable on Glenr than she had on Otta.

Sif gave a nod of confirmation and the rest of their ride was in a mutual silence. They dismounted at the palace and walked through its halls. When they reached the junction where they would part ways to their separate quarters, Sif stopped, not wanting Jane to leave yet.

"Would you care to have a drink first?" Sif asked.

Jane could sense the fear and exhaustion in Sif matched her own. They both wanted to forget for a moment what had happened on Vanaheim.

"Sure, just us?" Jane asked.

"No, let's invite the men, too. But Jane," Sif lowered her voice. "Just the basics."

"Yes, no need to give Fandral too many orgy details." Jane said with a forced laughed, purposefully avoiding the actual topic in case someone unseen was listening.

Sif laughed too, glad Jane was wise enough to catch on. She added, "Nor the food details for Volstagg."

Jane laughed again and then said, "You go get Thor and I will find Fandral and Volstagg. See you at the tavern."

"Three-eyed Raven's?" Sif asked.

"Yes, that one. Can you put these in my chambers?" Jane handed Sif her bow and quiver to bring back to her quarters.

After taking the weapons, Sif hesitated for a moment. She wondered why Jane would have put forth that she should fetch Thor. _Is this the start of the prophecy?_ She wondered. But she wanted to fetch Thor herself, and since it was settled, she gave a quick nod to Jane and headed towards his quarters.

Jane went the opposite way, quickly finding Fandral and Volstagg drinking in their shared quarters. She relayed the plans and the trio set off for Three-eyed Raven's.

The tavern itself was run by a raven, who were considered secondary citizens on Asgard and primarily acted as messengers throughout the realm. They carried both letters and spoken messages. It had taken Jane nearly six months to adjust to the fact that the ravens could talk. She wondered vaguely if the falcons on Vanaheim could as well.

"Ah, they are already here." Fandral said as they entered the tavern. He waved towards Thor and Sif and remarked to his immediate group, "He must have flown her here."

Jane expected to feel upset about this comment, as if Thor should only fly her anywhere, but she felt nothing. She smiled and waved at the pair of them, taking the seat at the end of the four-top. It was next to Thor, but didn't impose on Sif to move from her place beside him. Fandral sat next to Jane, across from Thor, and Volstagg across from Sif.

"Hello," Thor said to her with a smile after she'd settled into her seat.

"Hey!" Jane smiled. He leaned in to kiss her lightly and she let him, but didn't linger. Instead she said brightly, "I really need a drink that isn't wine!"

"Hear, hear! The lady has spoken!" Fandral laughed.

Thor motioned to a raven, who came over to take their drink orders. The ravens of course couldn't carry the drinks and would just fly back over to inform you when your order was ready to pick up from the bar. Jane realized the raven aspect was more a gimmick than anything, but the bar was good and they usually had live music. This evening was no exception with two fiddle players having a friendly duel on the small stage.

Volstagg helped Thor get the round from the bar once it was ready, and Jane began drinking her ale quickly. She wanted to forget everything she learned on Vanaheim. She wanted to forget the leer of Freyr. The uncomfortably saccharine nature of the Vanir. The way she'd been drugged in her own room. The tears of an emotionally shattered Sif. The six arms of Valfreyja. The purple light.

The guys asked for several details that Jane and Sif would not share. Each time this happened, the two women would share a look and drink more. After a couple of hours Jane felt closer to Sif than ever before and Sif wondered how she could have ever disliked Jane.

As the night wore on it became clear to Jane that her initial emotion on Vanaheim that she needed to leave Asgard was correct. Empowered by the alcohol, she decided that she would talk to Thor about it tonight.

"I have hit my mortal limit." She said, giving what she intended as an endearing smile to the group.

Everyone smiled back at her and Thor said, "Let me escort you back to our quarters."

Jane nodded and stood, still fairly steady on her feet. She was not actually drunk. She and Thor said goodbye to everyone and Sif masked her disappointment that he was leaving by drinking a large swig of mead. Valfreyja's and Gersemi's words weighed in her mind. It had seemed that Jane distanced herself from Thor throughout the evening, but now that alcohol seeped in, would the lowered feelings remain? Or would their original attraction be reignited? Sif was going to need more to drink and some distraction of thought.

She motioned for the raven and turned to Fandral, "Tell me of your latest training technique with the sword. And I mean actual weaponry, before you make a crass joke."

Fandral laughed and launched into his recent training grounds' activities. Volstagg chimed in corrections whenever Fandral exaggerated.

~.~.~

"Let's stop by the water first." Jane said to Thor, pulling him towards a balcony that overlooked the Ægir Sea.

"You can see Jötunheim's stars tonight." Thor said as they stood in the quiet nighttime air.

"Really?" Jane asked, looking up at the clear sky. Her keen eye began to spot constellations. "Oh, it's Jörmugandr!"

"Yes, well seen, Jane. I believe that Midgard is just through that star system." Thor said.

"It is. That tiny blue dot between the middle two stars." Jane said.

"You have acquired so much knowledge here in so little time! It makes me feel rather dull." Thor said and laughed lightly.

"Thor," Jane began. She was unsure how to proceed, as she'd never been in this situation before. Finally she continued, "I need to talk to you."

"About Vanaheim?" Thor asked. "I can tell from your and Sif's behavior that something happened there. Are you all right, Jane? Have they harmed you? Sif had a bruise on her face, but she would not explain it to me earlier."

"It's not about Vanaheim." Jane said. It wasn't entirely true, but she had no desire to answer his questions.

Thor was patient as Jane gathered herself. Finally she spoke again.

"I need to go home." Jane began. "So much has happened here that I didn't anticipate, and I just can't stay any longer."

"But, Jane..." Thor started.

"No, Thor." Jane said. "I know what you are going to say. That I'm a citizen, that I owe Odin what I promised. I will report to him in the morning and leave after that. Hogun too is an Asgard citizen and he lives on his home realm. That's what I'm asking. That's what I want."

"What about what I want, Jane?" Thor asked. His eyes were searching.

"What do you really want, Thor?" Jane whispered.

"I want you." He said. "If you leave, that is the end of things. I cannot come visit you and Odin will not take kindly to your flight."

"Thor," Jane said. It finally hit her what she was about to do. She was closing off her pathway to outer space. All that she'd come here for would be left unlearned. No Nobel prizes. No manifold of advances for Earth. Regardless of the prophecy, she knew she could not keep lying to Thor. She could not sleep in his bed, next to his body, when she had little interest in being there. She could not maintain any friendship with Sif knowing what she was preventing for them. She could not keep up this selfish façade.

"Jane?" Thor asked once she was silent for too long.

"I can't keep seeing you." Jane said.

"Why not?"

"Everything is different." Jane said. "I am different."

"What happened on Vanaheim, Jane?" Thor asked.

"Everything." Jane whispered. She could feel herself beginning to cry.

"Jane, it will be okay. I will fix this." Thor said and pulled her into an embrace.

"No." Jane said. Her voice was too soft even for her to hear, so she repeated herself louder, "No."

Jane pushed away from Thor unable to look at him when she said, "I am only standing in your way."

"How can that be possible?" Thor asked. "I love you, Jane. Do you no longer love me?"

Jane held her breath a long moment before looking back at Thor. She blinked away tears before finally saying, "I don't."

"I see." Thor said. He stepped backwards, as if Jane had actually struck him.

"I care for you, Thor." Jane said. She meant it, even if it sounded hollow now. "I always will. I just... I can't."

"No, no, I see." Thor said. "I understand."

"Okay." Jane said. She knew he couldn't entirely understand since he had never known the full truth of why she agreed to move here in the first place. That she had come to Asgard with the temporary intentions to gain sufficient knowledge and leave. That she had always been planning to return to Earth and work for Stark Industries alongside Bruce Banner. That she had stopped truly loving Thor at some vague point over the last four months. It didn't matter. This was over.

"I think I need to be by myself, Jane." Thor said. "Would you mind to see yourself back to our quarters?"

"Okay." Jane said. "I'm sorry, Thor. I truly am. It's all just too much for me."

Thor nodded and gave her his warm smile. She wondered if he would even come back tonight. If she should sleep somewhere else. It felt too tacky to bring up though.

"Goodnight, Jane." Thor said, breaking her thought.

"Goodnight." She said softly.

Jane turned to leave then, feeling a fresh batch of tears welling. She was surprised at how much she was crying. She felt like leaving Thor was a natural and logical course of action at this point, so her tears must be stemming from something else. From Vanaheim.

_He who loves you will betray you two times. On the second, you will kill him._

It replayed in her head like a broken record. She had to leave. Otherwise she would become a murderer. She had to leave. Thor wanted to be with Sif anyway, even if he didn't see it yet. They were made for each other. Jane could see it so clearly now as she moved her feet back to her chambers. She wanted to change into jeans. She wanted to feel like herself again—comfortable and practical.

She took the servant's entrance as a shortcut and moved quickly through the inner door to her dressing chamber, grateful Abigæl was nowhere to be found this late. She removed the dress that she'd put on that morning in Vanaheim. Just taking it off felt freeing. Tomorrow there would be no more "my lady", no more bows, no more dealing with Thor's outbursts of anger. Just smog and noise and delayed trains. Weak beer and Darcy's sarcasm. She was questioning how this context could possibly give her comfort when she heard a noise in her study.

_Thor._ She thought.

She zipped up her jeans and pulled her long sleeve shirt over her head before going into her study.

As soon as she emerged through the doors, it felt like her heart stopped beating for a long moment. Thor was not in her study. Instead there was a ghost of pale skin and long, black hair standing there reading her journal full of space-time travel equations. He wore clothing that she knew. Clothing that had covered her as protection in the fight on Svartalfheim. She would never forget that green.

"Loki?" Jane whispered.

He spun to face her, his light jade eyes slightly wild. As he stared at her, she realized the look in his eye was panic. He wasn't a ghost. He was real. This was real.

"Oh my god," Jane blurted out.

In two strides Loki was directly in front of her. His frame towered over her and he smelled like the cool scent of wet bark from an ancient fir. The scent of Odin that had been so familiar to her, but she couldn't place why. This was why. She had smelled it before on Loki. She knew he could do magic, a trait taught to him by Frigga. If she had not seen him die, it would not be out of the question for him to have been impersonating Odin all this time. Skaði had not seemed convinced Loki was dead though, and after the drugs proved real, Jane trusted her. She thought about it more. Odin's behavioral changes, Heimdall's concern that Odin lacked the gift of Mimir, the green and gold figure in her photo of the library. It all added up.

"You're Odin. Of course...of course! It all makes sense now." She said as she figured it out.

Loki's eyes turned dark and Jane immediately regretted speaking. Her heartbeat was racing and she did all she could think to do.

"Please, please don't kill me." she begged. "Only I know. I won't say anything. I'm leaving tomorrow anyway. It will be our secret."

Loki paused a moment before grinning at her and saying, "Oh, Jane, we both know it's too late. Heimdall can hear everything, and you and I know he is watching you quite closely, don't we? You have already revealed me."

Jane tried to swallow, but her throat was dry.

"Sweet Jane," Loki said. His slender hand brushed her face and locked onto her neck. Jane was certain he was going to strangle her or snap her neck and she attempted to make peace with herself before it happened. But Loki wrapped his other arm around her waist and said softly, "You've been crying."

Jane looked up at him and his green eyes flashed with excitement before the world around her faded into a spotted black and then blinked out of existence.

Loki found Jane had passed out during the spatial transport and laid her on the flying boat's floor. He could hear the alarms and knew he had hardly any time before he was spotted. Even with having immediately cloaked Jane's mind from Heimdall, there was no guarantee of getting out of Asgard unseen if he lingered. He looked to the sky to find the Jörmungandr constellation winking down at him. A smile crept across his lips as the plan shaped in his mind. He changed the boat's course and hoped Jane would not wake up until they had slipped through his passageway to Jötunheim.

* * *

Jane awoke in a shiver. Blinking to, she realized she was in motion and under a sky of darkness. An eerie glowing white sphere in the distance—almost like a moon, but too fluid—provided enough light for her to see she was not alone. As she stirred, the flash of green fabric caught her eye.

_Loki._

Anger washed over her as she moved to stand in the flying boat.

"Careful," Loki's voice wrapped around the word.

Jane shot him a glare. He met her eyes with a wide grin set into his own, the lines crinkling around their sockets. She wanted to look fierce and strong, but could not muster it in this cold.

His lies. His deceit. All those days spent with Odin that she had relished. Odin was beginning to accept her. Bring her into the fold with Vanir lessons and spying in Vanaheim. All of that had just been another lie, another disappointment on a long list. She crossed out the words "Odin's approval" from her mental notebook. It had always been Loki. It had always been lies.

Jane had read somewhere that she should create a relationship with her kidnapper if she wanted to make it out alive. She wondered vaguely what she should do if she already had a relationship with the kidnapper. If he had been impersonating someone else she trusted for the past year. If he had saved her life before. If he had invaded her planet before. If he smelled exactly like her favorite mountain meadow near Tromsø. What was the protocol for that situation?

"Where are we?" she finally asked. It came out weaker than she'd intended because her teeth were chattering so hard the words were jagged.

"Jötunheim," Loki smiled. "My birthplace."

"You could have at least brought me a coat." Jane managed.

Despite the circumstances of being kidnapped by her ex's brother who had been impersonating their father for at least a year, she was excited to be on Jötunheim. She remembered the last thing Skaði said to her was that she hoped Jane could some day visit Jötunheim. She wondered if she would run into Skaði. It would be ironic.

Even with the blatant propaganda of the Æsir library, Jötunheim's history was not all bad, and of course the realm was most known for its export of orka. Something Skaði had confirmed on Vanaheim. It was not clearly stated, as the Æsir's written history of the Jötnar was rather biased and thus incomplete, but based on her cross-referencing Jane had come to assume orka was the source of what eventually came to form the Tesseract.

She shuddered thinking of that relic's power, so similar to the all consuming nature of the aether. It had been more than a year since the aether had possessed her, but she could not fully shake its horrors. That desire for darkness was like no emotion she'd had before. Part of that desire still failed to leave her.

She was about to ask Loki what they were doing in Jötunheim when she felt something warm being wrapped around her. She looked down to find a vivid green parka surrounding her. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and began to zip it up.

"Let it never be said that Loki is not a true gentleman." He purred right next to her ear.

A slow tingle slid down Jane's spine and she turned to him, their faces only inches apart.

"Would a true gentleman kidnap a lady?"

Loki laughed.

"Oh, sweet Jane, this is hardly a kidnapping."

"Oh?" she cocked her head. If he only meant to kill her, she would already be dead. "Then what exactly is it?"

"All part of the plan, Jane Foster."

"Oh good, and here I was thinking this was all fly-by-night meets whistle stop tour of the realms." She muttered. The parka had warmed her to the core and as Loki erupted into laughter she noticed he was no longer wearing his cloak.

"Oh, I do like you, Jane." He said. "You have always been my favorite of Thor's consorts."

Jane winced at the word. Loki betrayed no indication that he saw her do so, but she knew he had. Loki started to land the boat and she finally took in her full surroundings.

The books hadn't done Jötunheim justice. It was terrifyingly beautiful, like the depths of a cave. She could hardly tell where the pillars of jagged rock began and ended, like monstrous versions of stalagmites and stalactites.

"It's so beautiful." Jane said the thought out loud without really meaning to.

"Not exactly Asgard." Loki said as he parked the flying boat on a glacial valley.

"No, I'm not being sarcastic." Jane said and looked at him. He held her gaze a moment and his features softened.

Finally he uttered, "You should wear green more often, Jane. It suits you."

"Don't plan on killing me then?"

Loki helped her out of the boat, conjuring snow boots onto her feet before saying, "Why would I kill the thing Thor holds most dear? What a waste of an opportunity."

She dropped his hand at this comment and shoved it into the parka's deep pockets.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked him.

"Jane, you're too smart to ask that." was his only response before he began walking.

Jane didn't follow him. Thirty paces away he spun to face her.

"Aren't you coming?" he called. Suddenly his voice was in her ear whispering, "Or are you going to stay here and freeze to death without my magic to keep you warm?"

Jane smacked the illusion next to her and yelled out, "Heimdall! Open the bridge!"

"Don't waste your meager stores of energy." Loki called from his actual spot, thirty paces away. "You think I could've snuck us out without a cloaking device?"

Jane pulled up her hood and marched towards him. All her thoughts were focused on Heimdall. Maybe he would be able to hear her thoughts still. She would not rely on Loki's words. They were all lies.

"Really, Jane," Loki began once she'd caught up to him. "You look quite ravishing in green."

"Shut up." Jane said.

"As you wish, my lady." He exaggerated. "But you aren't actually a lady, are you? Merely a mortal."

Jane sniffed. This was not the Loki she knew from Svartalfheim. Not the Loki who had saved her life when Thor could not. She wondered if there had been more truth than she allowed herself to believe in Sif's, Fandral's, and Volstagg's harsh words about him. If she had glorified the dead.

"Merely a mortal girl," Loki continued. "Hardly what an Æsir could call a lady."

"And you are hardly what anyone could call an Æsir." Jane said simply. "You would be dead if Thor didn't bother to care for you."

"I was dead, Jane." Loki replied, seemingly unaffected by her words. She knew that he was not though. Thor was his trigger. It had taken very little time with the two of them to figure that out.

"Why couldn't you stay that way then?" she asked.

"You found me. You alone are to blame for that." He said. "I should've cloaked your mind from the beginning."

"Heimdall would've noticed."

"The old oaf? I think not. I blind him all too easily."

"How?" Jane asked.

Loki stopped walking and took Jane's arm. She recoiled automatically and, expecting so much, he tightened his grip and pulled her to him. _How easily she folded into his arms._ The thought passed through both of their minds for a flicker of time, a Midgardian heartbeat, before Loki refocused his stare.

"That is why I brought you here." He said quietly.

"To blind Heimdall?"

He stared at her and his earlier words 'You are too smart to ask that' repeated in her head. After a moment she worked it out. He was going to share his magic with her.

"Like with Frigga?" she said. Her breath was a cloud of condensation as her heart raced with this proposal. Learning true magic would be far superior to anything she could achieve by simply becoming Æsir. Her entire understanding of the universe might change with the ability to do true magic. She felt so warm with excitement that she might even lose the parka and be fine.

"You're flush." Loki frowned and waved his hand. The inside of the parka cooled some. "Better?"

"Yes," Jane said. "How do you do it?"

"Frigga taught me as a boy. I hated being out of doors, preferred learning and improving the mind to foolish play." He began. "She wanted to give me a way to fit in, but still be myself. I would be hidden away reading while my illusion was off with Thor and Sif and the others."

"That's so lucky." Jane said. "I wish I had that growing up."

"Yes, well..." Loki started and stopped for a moment before asking, "Is that something you still wish?"

"To learn this magic?" she clarified. "Of course! Who wouldn't want that?"

"There are many."

"Think of all I could learn. To observe my own experience would be the ultimate in experiment. Think of the data possibilities!"

Loki smiled, amused by her excitement and the easy success of his own plotting. _The perfect bait._ He thought.

"Though, being too close to something could be a little Bruce Banner-esque." Jane frowned.

"Banner?" Loki frowned too, remembering the beating the man—if he could even be called such—gave him on Midgard. He shook his head and said, "You could never become like him. He's a foolish beast."

Jane shot him a look and said, "He's a colleague! Besides, you're not really one to talk."

"How am I foolish?" Loki protested.

Jane smiled to herself at the fact that he accepted 'beast' as a descriptor.

"Where are we going?" she asked. "Or did you just want to give me a spin down memory lane before dangling this carrot?"

Loki wondered briefly if she saw through his plan, but decided to restart their journey. It was too complex a plan, even for her quick mind.

"We're going to visit my mother." He said.

"Your mother died." Jane said bluntly. She'd meant to be softer about it, but she was too shocked. If Loki was alive after she had quite clearly seen him die, and Frigga taught Loki his magic, was there hope for Frigga?

"Don't be foolish, Jane." Loki spat. "My mother Nál rules Jötunheim now that Laufey is dead."

"Because _you_ killed him," Jane muttered to herself.

"I can hear a much lower range than you. Perhaps Thor did not share an understanding of this trait with you?"

Jane blushed before saying, "Or perhaps it's a Jötunn-specific trait."

"I admire your ability to lie by appearing optimistic, Jane." Loki laughed. "Unfortunately we are both correct and your late night secrets with Thor are hardly that."

"Well, you were the one listening!"

"All of Asgard could hear, I believe. The king's quarters have substantial soundproofing, and I still heard." Loki smirked. "You are quite loud."

Jane was too mortified to respond and they walked in silence for some time before approaching an enormous cliff face.

"Does everyone live inside there?" Jane asked.

"Your books didn't mention?"

"You know they didn't."

"Could you smell me on the pages?" he teased.

"Yes, they reeked of freezer burn."

Loki chuckled. "I have no idea what that means, but I'll safely assume it was a Midgardian insult. You are so full of them, Jane."

_I know what you're full of,_ Jane thought angrily.

Now what?" she said after they stood there a few minutes.

"We cannot simply walk into the gates of Utgard. We must wait to be admitted." Loki said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, it wasn't in your plan to send word ahead of time?"

"Your mockery is only increasing my affection for you, Jane. You're like a fantastic pet! I do see why Thor keeps you around."

Jane became aware she was seething and forced herself to release the emotion. If she lived through this, she could be back in Thor's protection and Loki securely imprisoned. Odin may even execute him this time. Thor had implied quite transparently that Frigga was the only reason Loki was kept alive before. Of course, this idea hinged on if they could even find Odin and if Odin was even alive. Jane wondered how far Loki's magic could reach.

A cold hand took hers, startling her out of this thought process, and she looked down to see Loki pulling her forward.

"They have let us in. Come, Jane."

She looked up to see the cliff face gone, an opening to a cavernous hall in its place. She had no choice but to be pulled inside by Loki.

Jötnar began to emerge from the shadows, taking in the foreign visitors with somewhat passive gazes through their vivid red eyes. Their size made even Loki, who towered over her, look like the runt in a litter. There were no fires, the main weakness of their race, but white orbs of orka hung in the air to light the entire space. They were miniature versions of the moonlike light source outside. That was the raw orka ore, Jane realized. It was still too dark for her to see much more than the path around them and the closest Jötnar.

"Loki Laufeyson!" A stony voice said from the darkness. "You remain alive after all."

The Frost Giantess emerged to reveal her immense stature. Jane's hand tightened around Loki's in fear and it wasn't until that moment she even realized their hands were still joined. She had seen many unbelievable things on Asgard, Svartalfheim, and Vanaheim, but nothing prepared her for this. Loki dropped her hand in order to extend out both of his. A gesture of good faith, she had read. Not so different from Earth culture.

"Nál!" Loki exalted. "An honor as always."

"You bring a mortal?" Nál asked.

"A gift," Loki replied. "She belongs to Thor Odinson."

Jane swallowed. This did not sound like the type of plan she would make it out of alive.

"You bring me Jane Foster?" Nál asked.

Jane looked at Loki for his reaction, but he gave nothing away. Jane searched the Jötnar she could see for Skaði. _Who else would mention me by name and relation to Thor to the Queen of Jötunheim?_ She thought.

"I am pleased you know of her." Loki replied.

"She is unique." Nál stated.

"Indeed," Loki smiled and glanced at Jane. His hand lightly grazed her chin making her realize her jaw had gone slack and she was gaping.

"Seize her!" Nál commanded.

Loki's arm immediately went around Jane's upper torso, his hand covering her heart. It happened so quickly that she didn't process at first he was essentially coping a feel. She knew they couldn't pierce through his skin and that he was simply protecting her, but still. In the hard hold of his arm, she was unable to move.

"Just a moment," Loki said calmly. "I do not give her freely. There is an exchange to be had."

"You come here unannounced and uninvited at a time when it is forbidden to enter Jötunheim. This is not even accounting for the malicious treatment of the Jötnar that you have portrayed historically." Nál leaned forward and Jane shuddered at the blood red of her eyes. "What room do you have to bargain?"

"I have kept the peace intact, Nál." Loki's voice held a hint of menace. "I have ruled the Nine Realms in peace for over a year under guise of Odin. I forbade entrance by all to Jötunheim other than to your ports. Your economy is booming, thanks to me. Even our unique friend here, Jane Foster, indulges in your orka now and then. You should be begging _my_ favor, Nál."

Jane counted 312 seconds before Nál replied, "What is your bargain?"

"I will give you adequate time to study Jane if in exchange you make her Jötunn."

"What?" Jane exclaimed.

"I accept." Nál said.

"No!" Jane yelled. Loki released her and the guards seized her easily. "You promised me, Loki! You promised!"

"I am keeping that promise!" he yelled at her.

He watched her continue to resist the Jötnar in vain until finally she went limp and fixed an icy glare on him.

"I will never forgive you." She whispered.

Loki made no response, but she knew he had heard her.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Songs for this chapter: "The Day The World Went Away" by Nine Inch Nails; "Tension" by Vök** _

* * *

Jane's imagination ran wild with what the Jötnar would do to her. Strap her to a gurney and dissect her up like in an alien thriller movie? Her time in Utgard was less exciting, rather a long stay at the hospital with tests and medicine administered at random, accompanied by the feeling of constant exhaustion. She was warm though. They had wrapped in some sort of orka cocoon, which seemed to maintain her body temperature and nourishment needs.

They had stuck her in what seemed to be a cross between a laboratory and a hospital room, based on the equipment she could see around her when they first dragged her in there. The room itself was made of stone and ice and poorly lit. She could not sit up or move very much, as if the orka cocoon they shrouded her inside physically stopped her from doing so.

Jane continued to have no idea why they were studying her. The Jötnar examining her only spoke to her if they had a question, which was rare, and they did not even speak to one another for her to overhear. It was clear they were still communicating though and Jane wondered if they were telepathic.

The time passed slowly. Without access to outside light, Jane could not accurately measure time here. Instead she tried to mark its passing by counting each time she woke.

The orka kept her from feeling much. She began to hypothesize that orka was the source of Loki's magic. She desperately wanted to ask the Jötnar examining her about it. Clearly they were scientists. Despite the obvious size difference, how unlike her could they really be? But every inquiry attempt she made was ignored. After thirty-seven awakes, she abandoned the idea.

Loki never came to visit her. Even in the dark silences when everyone else was away, he kept his distance. She supposed there was no reason for him to come. He was busy plotting his rise to the throne. What part might she play in that? Odin would not let Loki live after this. Thor himself might swing the axe, or however Æsir performed executions. The idea of Loki's head rolling on the floor kept her going. She refused to break down. She refused even to cry. She would live through this. Loki would not.

After a hundred and seventeen awakes her steel began to fade. Nál and Loki had never specified how long she would be subject to their study. At the end of it she would become Jötunn and thus have a new lifespan of thousands of years. She could be here for the entire length of her human life before they were done. This thought nearly destroyed Jane. The only thing that staved off her grief was the thought that Thor would be looking for her by now. If Thor was looking, then the whole of Asgard would be behind him.

She realized in terror what that meant.

Heimdall would know just where she was by where he could not see. The forbidden and volatile Jötunheim, which as it turned out wasn't so horrible, if not a bit rude. But no, with Heimdall's sight they would have come for her by now. This could only mean one thing: No one was looking for her because she was not missing. In fact, she was willing to wager a moping, mocking illusion of Loki was sitting in the Asgard dungeons refusing to speak to anyone. He'd probably had her illusion suggest she go back to Earth.

Every question Loki had asked her when he was pretending to be Odin, every quiet moment and decision she'd made on Asgard, Loki had observed. He knew her behavior so well that he might have just kept her there on Asgard. No one would suspect. No one spent any time thinking there. A foolish lot, the whole of them, even Thor. Especially Thor. He was sleeping next to an illusion of her, cast by his own brother, and didn't even notice.

That was the moment she broke.

Her scream was so loud and so long she felt the whole of Jötunheim could hear her. She was glad. They never acted like they heard her, so perhaps they finally would.

A pair of red eyes emerged from what she thought was an empty space. What had always been an empty space. As they moved closer to the light of the orka around her, she could make out the face surrounding the eyes. Even in the iced blue flesh, she knew it was Loki.

"Color me impressed, Jane." He said. As he smiled at her, his irksome grin, his flesh returned to normal. How she wished to smack that grin off his face.

He continued, "I never thought you would last this long. Even the Jötnar are impressed with you. You are truly stronger than what meets the eye."

"This whole time, where have I been?" Jane asked after a long moment.

Loki looked perplexed. "Right here, Jane. This is reality. I have been watching you this whole time concealed in that corner. You should never trust a Frost Giant left to its own devices."

"I mean the illusion of me." Jane grounded out.

"Oh, that." Loki said. After a moment he grinned brightly at her, "I'm quite proud you worked that out. Your illusion is imprisoned with my illusion. We were colluding of course. Odin hates traitors just slightly more than he hates mortals. I'm afraid your illusion didn't stand much of a chance after being found with mine."

"Lies." Jane said. Her voice was weary. She pictured him decapitated to inspire some energy before continuing. "Such obvious lies, too. My, my, Loki, you are out of practice here in your hidey hole with me."

Loki laughed easily.

"Well, that's fair." He said. "Your illusion sent itself back to Midgard. If I'm being honest, I originally planned to keep your illusion on Asgard, mostly as a spy of sorts since mine is locked up, but the idea of being bedded by Thor was, frankly, too revolting."

Jane laughed, in spite of herself, imagining Loki as her illusion trying to thwart Thor's advances. Even if it was not logical, given that she had just broken up with Thor. Loki clearly did not know that.

"Are you giving me the magic?" she asked Loki after a moment. She noticed that his eyes were still the Jötunn red. She'd grown so accustomed to those eyes while stuck here they felt commonplace, even set against Loki's Æsir features.

"Yes." Loki said. "You deserve it. You're the only other being I've met who deserves it."

"More lies?" Jane asked.

"No. Not this time. And the lies will stop. Frigga and I could keep very little from one another. My true origins were the only secret she kept from me, and it was bound by the All Father's power, so hardly her choice."

"Why did you bring me here then? If I am so deserving, why not just do it in Asgard?"

"You're too weak as a mortal to handle it."

"Human." Jane replied. "At least give me some dignity before you steal my identity from me."

"I am giving you so much more, Jane." Loki said in earnest. "Immortality. The power of true magic. No one else will possess both."

"Except you." Jane said. Was he replacing Frigga with her? Did that qualify as Oedipal Complex? _Maybe the Norse mythologies will adapt to include such a tale._ She mused. _The Lokian Complex._ She stifled a laugh, not wanting to deal with giving him an explanation for it.

"You still haven't answered my question." She said.

"Oh right." Loki said. "Yes, you're correct. I could have had the immortality tree bear you a fruit on Asgard, but where is the fun in that? 'Here, Thor, I've just solved your only problem in life ever for you'? Can you even imagine me doing such a thing—especially under the guise of Odin? Ha!" Loki said and looked at Jane with such ferocity that she felt like he might consume her. "No, Jane. I brought you here because I wanted to turn Thor's lover into a monster."

"The Jötnar are not monsters." Jane whispered.

"Oh yes, tell that to the Æsir, to the Vanir. Their squabbles for power end only in quests for blood. How can one not be raised to make enemy of their competitor? No, they are monsters because those in power perceive them as such." Loki sneered.

"What do you have against me, then, to make you so desperately want to see me suffer? Or is this all about your inferiority complex with Thor?"

Loki fixed Jane with a red eyed glare and she purposefully looked away from him. After a few moments his shadow was gone, hidden in plain sight once again. This could be her window. She closed her eyes and thought in a chant:

_Heimdall, come find me in Utgard._

_Heimdall, come find me in Utgard._

_Heimdall, come find me in Utgard._

~.~.~

When Jane awoke, she was in pain. The orka that had flowed around her for so long was gone. Her first thought was that Loki had taken it while she slept, but then she noticed the air did not feel cold.

She sat up, something she'd not been able to do since they first put her in there. The room seemed better lit now, even though the orka was gone. She saw the lab equipment was gone. Everything but the stone slab of a bed she sat on and a stone seat being occupied by Loki was gone. He appeared smaller from this vantage point. _Or, perhaps,_ she realized, _I am actually larger._

"Good morning, Jane." He said sweetly. "I'm willing to forget our discourse from last night if you are. Such harsh words—and you were not quite yourself then."

Loki looked his Æsir self again. Even his eyes were back to their pale green. He walked over to the bed slab.

"Nál said you would still be in pain. Something about the transfer of lifeforce across dimensions. But you should be perfect in a little bit. Then we can go."

"Go?" Jane asked. Her voice was different. Deeper, stonier, shrouded with ice and hate. She felt at her throat and the flash of blue that was her hand made her stop mid-motion. She turned her arm over, studying the new flesh. She felt...strong. There was no other way to describe it.

"Back to Asgard of course." Loki smiled and offered his hand to help her down.

"I can't go looking like this." She said. "The Æsir hate the Jötnar."

She pushed back her hair and noticed the grooves and bumps on her forehead forming a design.

"They're your markings." Loki explained. "They tell what—"

"—tribe I'm from. I know." Jane said. She had read about this aspect of the Jötunn anatomy. She was never going to adjust to that being her voice. It sounded so unlike her.

Jane took Loki's hand and hopped gracefully off the bed slab. She stood almost a foot taller than him in his Æsir form. She was so impressed with her new grace that she nearly missed the fact that Loki's arm was growing the same color as hers under her grasp. She let go of him and his Æsir flesh gradually reappeared.

"Well how the hell is this going to work?" she asked. "Even if you change my appearance, they'll know I'm Jötunn the moment we touch."

"Just how often were you planning to touch me, Jane Foster?" Loki grinned mischievously.

"Oh, right. You wish." She said.

He laughed and said, "Do I?"

Jane smacked Loki as hard as she had the first time they met and he went flying across the room.

"Wow!" Jane exclaimed. "I have wanted to do it like that for so long. How fun was that?"

Loki pulled himself off the icy ground and gave her a headshake.

"I think you're all better, huh?" he said, marching towards her. "Time to make you fit in again."

Loki pulled her mouth down to his and breathed into her quite forcefully. She had larger lung capacity now and he didn't stop until they were filled with his air. She could see his frame growing, the Jötunn taking over his form, until they were the same height. When he pulled away, his lips lingered on hers a moment too long and she felt a pang of lustful desire clawing within her. She took in his eyes, which were bright red now, and when she saw that they betrayed some what she'd just felt towards him, she quickly looked down at her hands. The icy blue colored Jötunn flesh was fading and her old skin tone replacing it. Her organs compressed inside of her as her frame shrank.

Her skin was not exactly as she remembered. She was more even toned and had a slight glow, like right after experiencing something pleasurable. _Is this Loki's doing?_ She wondered. _Is this how he saw me before?_

She looked up at him, now back to her human height. His eyes were green again and his skin a pale, smooth complexion.

"We should go now, Jane, before Nál has a change of heart." He said in a soft voice.

"What about the magic? Doesn't it come from the orka?" Jane asked. She was glad to find that in this form her voice sounded normal again.

Loki shook his head.

"Is it on Asgard then?"

"It is inside of you, Jane. I just breathed it into you." He said then eyed her cautiously. "But perhaps we should go to another realm first while you adjust to your new body."

He rubbed his face where she had hit him before and then flashed her a smile.

"Come on!" he said. "I know just the place."

~.~.~

When they exited the laboratory, Nál and her small council awaited them just outside the door. Jane recognized Skaði in the group even though she was now in Jötunn form and not Vanir, but neither of them acknowledged each other.

"Are you leaving us now?" Nál asked.

"I must beg our leave, so I might keep my promise to Jane." Loki said.

"Our exchange is complete and you are both most welcome to leave at any time." Nál said. "Though, I would like a moment with Jane, as she is now Jötunn."

Nál smiled at Jane, which she could only interpret as menacing even if she felt no malice from her.

"Please," Jane said to Nál with a slight bow.

Loki looked at her, surprised she would speak directly to Nál, but knew the situation was too delicate not to exercise his own caution. The last time he was on Jötunheim had not ended well and the reason for it stood among the small council, still looking as stunning as she always had. No doubt Skaði led Laufey's tribe now. Should Nál allow it, the duty would fall to him if he chose to renounce his Æsir ties and take it. Now that he had been discovered as alive again, it was something to consider. He could likely gain amnesty from Asgard here, if he really tried to make amends with the Jötnar.

He and Jane had been here a month and no one had attempted to harm him, so that was something. To his knowledge, no one on Jötunheim knew of his attempt to destroy their realm during his misguided vengeance against Thor a few years ago. If they did learn of it, he would be banished from the realm, or worse. Regardless, even as the only living direct heir, he could never assume the throne here since he had murdered the former king. While rape was distinguished as a worse offence than murder by the Jötnar, it was still specifically written into their laws that no one who killed an active ruler could assume the throne.

Nál did not wait for a reply from Loki after Jane's affirmation and led her by the hand to a small, private chamber. Before closing the stone door behind them, Nál turned to her council, who had casually surrounded Loki, and commanded, "Wait here."

Jane's form was Jötunn again under Nál's touch and even when she released her inside the chamber, her form did not change back to human.

"This chamber permits no magic." Nál explained. "It is our Chamber of Truth."

"So I am truly Jötunn? The change is real and permanent?" Jane asked.

"Yes." Nál said. "To be certain Jane, there are times to mock and trick Loki. This is not one of them. I had to keep my end of the bargain."

"Why did you want to study me? How am I unique?"

Nál did not answer immediately. Instead she was preparing what looked to Jane like an apple. Finally she turned to Jane and gave her the fruit.

"Eat this." Nál commanded. "It is the fruit of Iðunn and gives what Humans call immortality. The fruit is from the orchards of Asgard. Frigga bestowed me with it as a bereavement gift for Laufey. She did not understand that his death was the best thing to happen to the Jötnar. His petulant grudge against Odin made him a poor leader and many Jötnar suffered under his rule."

Jane took the fruit cautiously, unable to believe that she was about to access the one thing she thought she never would be allowed. She ate it and the burning pain she'd been feeling since waking up ceased. She sighed in relief. Nál gave her some water to wash down the fruit.

"We studied you, Jane, because you possessed the aether. The mortals should not be able to sustain any energy like that for more than a day." Nál explained. "Your Æsir friends did not want to alarm you, but your continued existence after possessing it for so long is an anomaly."

"My existence?"

"Yes." Nál nodded. "Before she was taken from us, Frigga relayed a message to the Triad."

"What message?" Jane asked.

She knew the Triad was an alliance of the queens in Asgard, Vanaheim, and Jötunheim. How the Æsir books explained it was more of a good faith initiative between leaders' wives, almost like a series of luncheons between First Ladies on Earth. Nál's tone indicated it was a bit more strategic than that.

"The message was 'The mortal is unique.'" Nál said.

"That's it?" Jane asked. "Nothing as to why or what that meant?"

Nál smiled again and it seemed only slightly less menacing this time.

"I suppose its true meaning will reveal itself in time. But know that the Triad works in your favor, Jane Foster."

Jane nodded and said, "Thank you." She was unsure how else to react.

Nál smiled at her once more. This time Jane saw nothing of menace. As she and Nál held each other's eyes, all she saw in their red depths was hope.

"Valfreyja will have given you your prophecy by now, but you will soon come to learn your fate." Nál said.

"What is the difference?" Jane asked.

"Fate is woven by the Norns at the Well of Mimir in the southern tip of Jötunheim. The pathway to fate is malleable based on the decisions we make, but the ultimate outcome remains steadfast. Prophecy differs in that it is a form of magic bred out of Vanaheim that foretells a specific event as it will occur. Due to this precision, prophecy will always unfold exactly as it is told. While it cannot be altered, one's fate may be reached by any combination of journeys."

Jane nodded and wondered what her fate would be if her prophecy was to kill the man who loved her.

"As dictated by the Norns, Loki's fate is aligned to yours now." Nál said. When Jane gave her a concerned look, she laughed and added, "I know how tiresome he can become. He is my son, after all. But you are stronger than you yet realize. Know Jane, that you are not alone. The realms may not favor Jötunheim, but you are always welcome here. You are Jötunn now and we will always protect our own."

Jane bowed her head slightly and Nál lifted her chin so their eyes could meet.

"You will notice soon enough that our markings are the same. While Loki belongs to Laufey's tribe, you belong to mine. We are not a callous group, Jane. You will fit in well."

Jane touched her forehead, tracing the grooves and looking at Nál's. She felt she might cry, but it was as if she had no tear ducts. It dawned on her that the Jötnar may not.

"This is so much to take in, I'm sorry." Jane said. "Do you have any books that might help me understand my new identity? The Æsir library is... incomplete."

"We do not. Our history is recorded in ice sheets and cannot be removed from our realm. But if you have any questions, we are linked as tribe members."

"Linked?"

"Yes. I cannot show you here because it is technically magic. Essentially you consume orka and we become telepathically linked."

Jane realized she had been right about the Jötnar examiners using telepathy.

"Can I turn it off?" she asked.

"Why would you want to do so? It is for your protection." Nál said. Her voice held caution.

"I only wondered." Jane smiled reassuringly. _Loki will know how to block it._ Jane thought. _How else would Laufey not have seen his death coming?_

Nál nodded and then turned to the door. "It is time for you and Loki to leave Jötunheim." She said.

Outside the chamber Jane quickly returned to human form. Loki gave her a searching look and then burst into a laugh. Jane shook her head and looked at Nál, who had become passive again.

"Thank you for your visit, Loki." Nál said, leading them out to the main hall of Utgard.

"It has been most intriguing." Loki replied and bowed.

Nál pulled an orb of orka from the air and spilled some of it into a vial. She sealed the vial and gave it to Jane, stating, "In case you have any questions."

Jane took the vial and gave a bow to Nál and the rest of the small council. Skaði gave her a quick wink after Loki had turned to leave. Jane smiled at her briefly and then followed Loki toward the front gates. The hall was no longer dark to Jane, even in this form her Jötunn eyesight remained intact, and as they emerged into the shrieking arctic winds outside, it seemed like daylight.

"Take my hand!" Loki yelled through the ice storm. "We won't survive in this form."

Jane took his hand and her body became a comfortable temperature again. They were suddenly on the flying boat and Jane gave him a surprised look.

"Shortcut." He grinned. "Let's get out of here."

"Good idea." Jane nodded. Even in Jötunn form the weather was brutal. She sat next to Loki and held the blue flesh of his ankle while he guided the boat away from Utgard.

~.~.~

Once they were out of the storm, Jane released Loki and took in the planet. She felt more at ease in these conditions than in the splendors of Asgard or especially the opulence of Vanaheim. She mused about what this said about her, that she preferred the austere to the elaborate.

"What did Nál do to you?" Loki asked. "You are too quiet."

Jane smiled to herself at Loki's assumption of Nál's malice.

"Nothing." Jane replied. "She told me I was part of her tribe and gave me some fruit."

"The apple of Iðunn?"

"Sure, sounds right." Jane shrugged, downplaying her true understanding. "Immortality fruit."

"That's a big deal, Jane." Loki said. His tone was serious. "Very few are permitted to eat from the tree of Iðunn."

"It healed my pain from the transition." Jane explained. Then she lied, saying, "I don't think there was more to it than that."

"I suppose she can't have you running around with mortality still a part of you if you're in her tribe." Loki said, mostly to himself.

Jane realized he had not expected Nál to react kindly to Jane. She knew his ego wouldn't want to hear Nál's actual message. Nál had essentially told her Loki was a passenger in her life, rather than the other way around. Jane was unsure how this would prove true though, as she remained cloaked from Heimdall and thus a victim to his whims. At least she could smack him with some actual strength now. Jane laughed at this thought.

"What?" Loki asked, looking bemused.

"Just remembering how you flew across the room today."

Loki gave her a narrow eyed look and then exclaimed, "Oh yes! I was taking you to Alfheim for magic practice."

"Really?" Jane brightened. "Thor refused to take me there. He said it was out of bounds for humans."

"That's true." Loki said. "Good thing you're no longer human."

Jane just nodded vaguely. She didn't feel not human, but she didn't feel entirely human either. Nál had been so kind to her, and she felt a sense of peace with Jötunheim since they'd first arrived. She wondered if she could renounce her identity as a human and take on that of a Jötunn. Loki never had done so. His path had been so different than hers though. Raised to hate the very thing he was, all for another's gain. She wondered if only Frigga truly had understood this about him.

She looked up at Loki to study his features. The wind raced through his hair and his eyes were bright. He was breathing deeply as if he meant to store the icy air of Jötunheim inside himself to access later. His faint smile belonged to his present emotions and not his schemes. He looked free. Jane wondered if Loki would ever come to terms with his own identity.

"Here we are, Jane!" Loki said looking down at her with boyish excitement. "You may want to hold onto something."

She grabbed hold of the boat's inner tubing and looked ahead to see they were about to crash into a massive frozen waterfall. Their speed was too fast to abandon course now. A second later Loki banked right and she saw the sliver in the cliff they were headed for. As they slipped inside the tiny slit in the rock wall, Jane let out an excited, "Woo!" and Loki laughed easily.

"And they say I'm mad!" he cried.

" _They_ don't have Jötunn eyesight." Jane smiled.

She saw him wiggle his eyebrows, his eyes focused intensely on the walls of this hidden portal. Jane felt a rush like she had when Thor first took her flying with him. The boat slipped out of the tunnel and into another waterfall. This one was not frozen and Jane shielded her eyes from the pounding water to take in scores of rainbows crisscrossing a golden canyon. The wide sky stretched bright blue for miles until settling into a pink and orange glow at the horizon.

"Welcome to the land of the Ljósalfar." Loki said.

"It's heavenly." Jane said, standing up.

"That is the idea." Loki smiled.

He moved a hand over her without actually touching her body. His gesture was almost like he was pulling something out of her, then he made a tossing motion over the side of the flying boat and water cascaded from his hand into the river below. Jane realized her clothing and hair were dry as Loki did the same thing to himself.

"Thanks" she said.

"You're welcome." Loki said. "Soon you will be able to do that yourself."

"Really?" Jane asked.

"Of course! That was extremely simple." Loki replied, shaking his head like Jane asked what 2 + 2 was.

Jane ignored his condescension and enjoyed the scenery. She had never even imagined somewhere as spectacular as this, it was almost unreal.

* * *

Sitting on the couch in Thor's drawing room, Sif knew they were out of their depths. Once Heimdall had seen Jane discover Loki was still alive and had been impersonating Odin this whole time, they had immediately thrown him back in his old prison cell. Jane was too shaken to stay on Asgard and had returned to Midgard the next morning. Not exactly the timeline Valfreyja had prophesized, but close enough. That had been over a month ago.

Jane's departure meant Thor's focus was entirely set on locating Odin. A week ago they had finally found him. He was in Odinsleep in the Valaskjálf chamber of the King's Quarters, which only the Asgard ruler's touch could open. Thor had to use mjölnir to break down the door. Within the chamber, Odin was further hidden from Æsir sight by a spell. Something that Sif knew only Lorelei or her sister Amora could have cast. Since Amora and her Jötunn partner Skurge had been banished from Yggdrasil centuries ago, it only served as further proof to Sif that Loki had been colluding with Lorelei this entire time. Sif did not understand why they had not executed Loki yet, but Thor would not allow anyone to even mention it.

Now that they had found Odin, their problems were actually greater than they had been before. Odin was sick. None of the healers recognized the disease. No one even understood how to test the disease to see what it was doing to him. They predicted his death to be imminent, perhaps a few weeks. As the healers all began to show symptoms of the disease, Odin and those infected were moved under strict quarantine. No one was permitted entry; not even Thor.

Sif was unsure how to handle Thor's reaction to this. She knew how to handle his anger, but he had not shown any anger.

As she looked at him sitting next to her, she wished Jane was there. Jane would know what to say or not say. She became infuriated again with Jane's cowardice in leaving them to go back to Midgard and said out loud, "I'm so mad at Jane."

"You mustn't be mad at Jane. What could she do?" Thor said without much emotion.

"Be here for you!" Sif yelled even though Thor had explained weeks ago that Jane already ended their relationship before she had discovered Loki's identity.

Sif stood up and began to pace the drawing room, finally pausing by the central fireplace. Thor walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her body against his. He buried his face in her thick hair and kissed the top of her head. Sif turned into his chest as she began to cry, her frustration seeping from her eyes. He put his other arm around her, embracing her for a long time as one side of their bodies heated immensely from the proximity of the fire. Finally it was too hot on their skin and they had to move away. Thor took Sif's hand into his own and led her from the drawing room and into his bedroom chamber.

While Thor closed and locked the door, Sif took in the bedroom, not having been in there for centuries. If anything of Jane's had been there before, it was gone now. The room was entirely Thor's in appointment and design.

Thor was in front of her again. He wiped stray tears from her cheeks and cupped her chin with his index finger and thumb. She looked up at him, blinking away tears as she met his eyes.

"I am sorry, Sif." He said.

Sif furrowed her brow and shook her head as if to ask, "For what?"

"For having been distracted for so long." He said.

As Thor leaned down to kiss her, his finger and thumb tilted her chin upwards towards him so their lips would meet that much sooner. Sif kissed him eagerly. Her emotions of anger and grief dissipated at the taste of him and she parted her lips to accommodate more of his mouth. Thor responded in kind and their tongues met greedily as his free hand wrapped around her torso and pressed her body against his own. Sif let herself lace her fingers through his golden hair, closing her eyes to enjoy the sensation.

Thor began to untie the back of her dress and Sif pulled his outer layer of fabric from his shoulders. He unhooked the metal fasteners keeping her dress up and the fabric fell easily to the limestone floor beneath them, leaving her in just a bottom undergarment with her breasts exposed to the cool air. Thor removed his tunic and she began to untie his trousers. Once he was naked, Thor pulled Sif's undergarment off and kissed her intensely while he picked her up off the ground. Sif wrapped her legs around his torso and he easily found his way inside of her.

Sif had not forgotten what it felt like to have Thor inside of her, but this was different than it had been two centuries ago. It felt more real and more secure. She moved her body over his and could feel his smile beneath her lips. She smiled back and they began to kiss lightly, tenderly.

She started to orgasm and clenched her lower muscles around Thor tightly causing him to begin to orgasm as well. The first orgasm always came quickly for the Æsir. Sif knew this now from the contrast of the relationship with her former Vanir lover some decades ago. Æsir bodies easily could have dozens of orgasms in one session, whereas the Vanir would only have one or two exceptionally explosive orgasms after hours or even days of foreplay.

Thor walked to the bed, Sif's body still wrapped around his, and lay on his back so that she was on top of him. His hands explored her flesh as she rotated her hips over him. After a while, Thor pulled her upper body down so that he could trace it with his lips. As he focused his mouth on her nipples, Sif began to orgasm again. She let out a noise of pleasure and Thor's tongue played more fervently with her breasts. As her orgasm finished, she pulled Thor's face to hers, enjoying the sensation of his beard against her skin. They kissed for a while until Thor flipped Sif onto her back and proceeded to thrust into her with deep penetration. They both came to orgasm multiple times in this position.

Sif pushed Thor off of her and turned on her side. He matched her movements and she hooked her leg over his so that he could penetrate her again. He pushed himself deeply inside her and wrapped his arm around her torso, cupping her breasts in his massive hand. He kissed her neck as he moved in and out of her and she let out a small giggle as he began to nibble on her earlobe.

Thor laughed at this and murmured into her ear softly, "I have missed you."

Sif reached her hand back to his face, caressing it a few times before responding, "And I you."


	8. Chapter 8

**_Songs for this chapter: "Copy of a" by NIN; "Time Is Running Out" by Muse_ **

* * *

Loki flew the boat outside of the canyon to an enormous meadow surrounded by a sparse layer of trees and landed it easily.

"This is it?" Jane asked, a little disappointed with how short their journey on Alfheim had been.

"I don't really want the light elves checking in on us. We will mostly appear like Jötnar here to them. The light elves can see through most magic given how magic-based they are themselves." Loki explained as he hopped off the boat.

Jane followed after him, wondering when their magic training would begin.

Loki turned to face her as she landed on the soft grass.

"First things first," he said. "We are not friends. At no point should you think I care for you in any remote way."

Jane flinched and then nodded. Making friends with Loki was not on her list of life goals, and she only intended to feign any emotional attachment at all to him if it would expedite her being free of him.

"Secondly, there are two kill points that we should probably avoid if we hope to both leave Alfheim." Loki said. He cupped his hand on Jane's heart and then pressed the space just behind her ear. "As a Jötunn, it's nearly impossible to be killed while in disguise. In your true form however, those two places will always be fatal. So protect them! If you're in human form and are killed, you will transition into Jötunn form. Be prepared to protect your Jötunn self from additional attack. You are most vulnerable at the transition point."

"Is that how you did it on Svartalfheim?" Jane asked.

"Fooled Thor to think I was dead?" Loki clarified. "Yes. I created an illusion after that monster stabbed me and made the gullible half-wit grieve. The fool!"

"Okay, but is he really a fool for thinking you died when it looked like you died?" Jane said.

"Why didn't he know?" Loki said and quickly added, "I'll tell you why! Sentiment! He wanted our brotherly love to be restored in my death. As if we were ever brothers to begin with!"

"Right," Jane said, severely biting her tongue. She knew that Thor still had not moved on entirely from Loki's death. "So, is there a third thing I should know?"

"The third thing is that once you can fool me with your illusion, we can leave and return you to your precious Thor."

"All I have to do is fool you into believing something that isn't real?" Jane asked incredulously before adding, "You already do."

Loki turned his hand and the ground around Jane began to tremble.

"Earthquake, Jane. Now what?" he yelled.

Jane noted to herself to stop pissing him off before she focused on the practical ability to jump away from the extremely isolated earthquake.

On her first attempt, Loki just followed her. She had two options: block his magic or make an illusion of herself for him to follow. She decided to create an illusion, as blocking him seemed almost futile. _How do I create an alternate being?_ She asked herself. She knew a clone was a duplication of atoms, but in such a sophisticated form she would need some precision. She couldn't just duplicate herself; there weren't enough atoms to use. But around them was grass. Organic material. Maybe this could work.

She had to assume two things based on Loki's actions. First, she'd have to use her hand to conjure this magic—she could hardly call it science at this point. Second, it would all be originated from her mind. She would have to will what she wanted into place.

"The ground may split soon." Loki warned in an attempt to hurry her up.

That was when she realized there was a third option—she could see through a façade and disable it. She reached down and smacked the ground hard. It shimmered green and gold and stopped shaking.

"Okay," Loki said. "But did you recognize it was an illusion or just assume? You often have assumed correctly with me."

"I just assumed." Jane said. "How do I distinguish?"

"You need to tap into more of your brain." Loki said. "Right now you're operating at a minimal percentage, like most of the universe. But I breathed into you the capacity to access all of your brain."

"How can I do that?" Jane asked.

Loki frowned, trying to remember how his mother taught him this aspect.

"It's like..." he began. "It's like accessing an old memory. Something stored in your mind that you may never revisit. Something from your infancy, perhaps."

"Okay, so I need to act like I'm reaching into a part of my brain I'm not even aware I have?" Jane said.

"Exactly!" Loki smiled.

"That's really hard." Jane said.

"You haven't even tried yet!" Loki protested.

"Fine," Jane said. "But let's start smaller. How can I conjure something, like a teacup or something?"

"Conjuring is a collection and repurposing—"

"—of atoms." Jane finished for him. "I get _that_ , it's the action of it that eludes me."

"So, imagine it, this teacup." Loki said. "And then find 'atoms' around you to rearrange into it."

In a shimmer of green and gold, he produced a beautiful porcelain teacup as he spoke. Jane focused her mind. She told herself to actually see the world as she always mentally did—as a massive assortment of atoms. To her astonishment, this worked. The grass, air, Loki, herself, the flying boat—they were all a hovering mass of atoms. They shook and trembled and whizzed and Jane knew she just had to collect a few here and few there to build the foundations of a teacup. It would not be perfect, of course, but it was only an illusion. Just a copy of a copy in her mind. She could do this. It was easy when she really thought about it.

Jane poised her hand to conjure the atoms together. The process moved quickly and soon she too had a gold lined teacup hovering over her free hand.

"And there you have it." Loki said. "In time you won't need to use your hand, but for now it's fine."

Jane became determined to not need her hand for simple things.

"So what about detection?" she said.

"Right, the original idea." Loki nodded. "I'm going to duplicate myself and then I want you to really focus on which version is the real me."

As Loki multiplied himself, Jane at first tried to remember which one was the original. When Loki transported his selves around, this became impossible. She tried to focus her mind, but it kept calling up how many copies there were. Finally she closed her eyes in frustration. That was how she saw it. The real Loki gave off an energy field. It wasn't thermal energy, which all the forms seemed to have, but rather like a lifeforce. Almost like the orka's glow, except gold.

She opened her eyes and quickly touched the real Loki to indicate she had figured it out.

"Good" Loki said, dropping his duplications. "You're learning fast, Jane. I thought you would."

When Jane found herself smiling at his praise, she felt guilty for craving it in the first place. She resolved that she was only glad for the praise because the sooner she mastered magic, the sooner she would be able to create an illusion that would fool Loki. This would get her back to Asgard so she could turn Loki over to Thor and Odin. What she would do after that, she wasn't sure. Being Jötunn now altered her original plan to move back to Earth and work for Tony. _Maybe I can create a new life on Jötunheim?_ She reasoned.

"Let's work on creating more complicated illusions." Loki said, snapping Jane back to her present reality. "Like duplicating yourself or projecting another person."

"Okay," Jane said. "How do I do that?"

"It's just like with the teacup, but to make it convincing, you have to really understand how the person talks, expresses herself, carries herself, all of it. It is usually easiest to duplicate yourself since you know how it is to be you."

"So, the duplication is just an illusion? How were you Odin then? I touched you as Odin and it didn't dissolve the illusion."

"Ah, that was not an illusion. That was me shifting forms. Basically, you can cast infinite illusions, if the—what do you call them? Atoms?"

"Yes," Jane frowned. "What do you call them?"

"Dropar." Loki said, his voice shifting to an Æsir accent as he spoke.

"Dropar..." Jane rolled the word around a few times before refocusing. "Okay, so to cast illusions, it is only is limited to how much dropar is around. Basically you're all set unless there's a vacuum?"

"What's a vacuum?"

"The lack of dropar. Space that contains no matter." Jane explained.

"Lofttæmi?" Loki said.

"Sure?" Jane shrugged.

Loki nodded and said the word 'vacuum' a few times before saying, "But you don't mean dark matter, right?" Because lofttæmi doesn't have that."

"Of course not. Dark matter obviously contains matter. Don't be ridiculous, Loki."

Loki smiled at Jane and added, "Dark matter is a whole other topic. We will cover that another day."

"Oh?" Jane asked with excitement.

Loki just laughed. He had not expected Jane to take to magic this easily; it was as if she already knew all the tools. He thought this would have been more like teaching a child—or worse, an Æsir warrior—but Jane was smart. He liked her mind. She reminded him a little of Erik Selvig, but she was superior. Selvig was too old and embittered to truly have an open mind. There was something about Jane that drew him in; a limitlessness to her. He realized this was how he felt about himself.

Loki could hear Jane talking and tuned himself back in. When he did he realized two Janes were talking.

"How do I separate the speech?" both Janes were saying.

Loki stared a moment, shocked at how successful her first self duplication attempt had been. It had taken him weeks of practice to hone this skill as a child.

"What? Did I do it wrong?" the Janes asked and she turned to look at her illusion, which also turned. It looked correct from the back to her. She'd even mimicked the new skin tone Loki had given her versus her old, duller one.

"Um," Loki stammered, still in shock, but never at a loss for words. "You need to separate your brain into two thought patterns... like you're talking to yourself almost?"

The Janes furrowed their brows.

"You know...like that inner voice telling you things. Your conscience." Loki said, finally remembering the word.

"Since when did you know what a conscience was?" one of the Janes asked.

Loki laughed, blinking once to determine which Jane was real. He put his hand through her illusion and looked the real Jane in the eyes. "Now, do something to impress me." He said.

His voice was low and confident. Jane felt her heartbeat increase tempo and knew it was not out of fear. She held his gaze, more in defiance to her unwanted emotions towards him than anything else, and produced another illusion.

"Is that how you see me?" Loki grinned, taking in Jane's new illusion of himself. He gave her a wink before adding, "I'm quite attractive."

"Oh, you have no idea, Loki." Jane said the sentence slowly, severing the head off of the Loki illusion as she did until it detached and fell to the ground.

Loki stepped backwards and gave Jane a once over before looking back to his severed head in the grass. He stepped into the illusion to dissolve it and then said coldly to Jane, "I said impress me."

Jane did not have time to respond before he was on top of her. He gripped her throat in his hand, their skin turning that icy blue as they shifted forms. Loki held Jane in the air and she began clawing at his arms so he would loosen his grip. Without oxygen flowing to her brain, she found that she could not perform magic. Not that she even knew how to transport herself from his grip anyway.

Jane remembered she had a larger lung capacity in this form and worked to slow her heart rate in order to regulate her oxygen stores. Loki was talking, but she could only focus on some of his words. She could tell from the tone he was threatening her. Finally he released her, throwing her across the meadow. To her surprise, she landed on all fours like a cat. Loki was approaching, his form shrinking back to Æsir, and Jane scrambled to her feet gasping for air as she did.

"You think I would create a weapon that could actually kill me?" Loki was shouting. "Don't be so foolish, Jane."

 _A weapon?_ Jane thought. Her brain caught up and she realized she was the weapon. The question remained though, one she'd wondered on Jötunheim before the transition.

"How do you plan to use me as a weapon?" she asked.

"Why would I reveal that to you?"

"I think you're lying." Jane said. "I don't think you even have a plan."

"Oh, there is a plan, Jane." Loki snapped. "It is a glorious plan."

"Nope. I don't believe you." Jane said. "I think you are just a lonely little boy and so you thought you'd fashion yourself a friend."

"Jane, I am not your friend." Loki said.

"Loki, you are incapable of being a friend." Jane said evenly.

They stared at each other for a while until Loki finally said, "Let's get back to work. I expect perfection from you before can leave."

"That's impossible." Jane said. "Your concept of perfection is flawed."

"Is that so?" Loki hissed. "And what of your concept of perfection? Is Thor how you perceive perfection?"

"Now who is the foolish one, Loki?" Jane sneered at him. "You presume to know me simply because you've stalked me for months. You know nothing about me, about what I truly want, what I value. You have not been inside my head. You do not know my thoughts."

Loki let out a laugh and touched Jane's cheek with the back of his hand. Their skin changing as he said, "I guess I don't have to wait any longer."

Before Jane could do anything, she felt the sharp pain of a migraine growing. It was as if something was pushing into her brain, causing it to expand against her skull. Then she knew. Loki was inside her mind.

There had to be a way to block him. If this was what he'd meant about no secrets with Frigga, there was no way he let his mother into his mind at all times. Adolescence was too embarrassing for that. She realized this thought had led her to imagine Loki masturbating and chided herself for thinking it.

"You're disgusting, Jane." Loki said out loud.

Unfortunately this led her to thoughts of her own adolescence. A memory she had long repressed emerged vividly, like someone had pressed play on a video. She was in sixth grade gym class and they were running laps. Jane was not the fastest or the slowest, but that day she had horrible abdominal pain. As she ran, she felt liquid running down her leg. She looked down to see it was blood.

Loki could feel the panic Jane went through in her memory. The idea that she was dying kept flashing through the younger Jane's mind. He couldn't understand why she was so afraid until the memory shifted into a nighttime scene. Jane was on a highway, wrapped in a coarse blanket. He could tell she was cold, but unable to feel it. Blue and red lights kept flashing and voices could be heard all around her. He could make out the words, "She's bleeding internally. There's nothing we can do. I'm so sorry." Then he felt Jane begin to experience a grief he knew quite well. Thor had never once mentioned Jane's parents and this was why. They were dead.

"Make it stop. Please, Loki." Jane whispered out loud.

Loki pulled his mind from hers and Jane collapsed to the ground, holding her head as it throbbed in pain. Loki rubbed his eyes, soothing out the lesser pain he had from being a passenger in her brain. He stood there over Jane, giving her the privacy to recover. He knew she would likely ask him a million questions now.

Instead, he felt her probing into his brain. _How did she figure this out already?_ He wondered before putting up a mental block. He pushed her out and she tried again. He realized with some admiration that she was teaching herself how to shield her mind from him, so he let her continue until she was too exhausted to carry on.

Loki crouched next to Jane and she looked at him. She looked frazzled and ready to fall asleep at any moment. He took her body in his arms and transported them to the flying boat, placing her on the padded floor.

"You should sleep, Jane." He said. "We'll continue our training tomorrow."

"It's not dark out." Jane said.

"The Ljósalfar control their skies." Loki said. "When they decide to sleep, darkness will fall."

"How? How is it not in orbit?"

"Alfheim is on one of the heavens. They exist above the stars."

"How is that even possible?"

"Magic." Loki said. "This is where true magic originates. Now get some sleep."

Jane made a noise of agreement and conjured a blanket to wrap around herself. As she snuggled into it, Loki smiled to himself. He had not yet taught her how to create solidified illusions. Jane's mind was an anomaly.

He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come to him. He felt like he'd not slept in weeks and realized that was accurate. He had not trusted the Jötnar enough to sleep while on Jötunheim. It still would not come, so he checked in with his illusions of himself and Jane. Nothing was happening on Midgard and he left illusion Jane to her own busybody devices. Full of his brain's knowledge, she was making great progress in space-time travel development. He knew exactly which mortal would have the resources to carry out her inventions, too.

The situation on Asgard was different. Something was wrong, but he could not tell what. No one would speak to him in his jail cell. Thor still had not come to see him, nor Odin. Perhaps they had not uncovered Odin yet. He and Jane had been gone for more than a month though, and he was again amazed at how stupid the Æsir were. He decided to hang out as his illusion for a bit to try and collect more information.

There were murmurs and then some shouts. He moved his illusion to the cell's glass wall to have a better vantage point. People were being brought into the prison by the scores. They looked Æsir though, but not quite right. Their skin was gray and their movements slow and sickly. There was a knock on the other glass wall and Loki turned to find Sif staring at his illusion. He walked to her and found she had tears in her eyes.

"Crying for the injustice of my imprisonment, Sif?" he said as his illusion.

"I will never shed tears for something as meaningless as your existence." She said to his illusion.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Thor did not want to do it, so I offered to come and tell you." Sif said.

"Tell me what?"

"Odin is dead." Sif said.

"So you did find him." Loki said.

"Weeks ago. He was sick when we found him. Clearly your doing." Sif said. Then she smiled at Loki and added, "Now that he is deceased, you will be tried for regicide."

"I had nothing to do with it!" Loki protested. "He was perfectly well the last time I saw him."

Sif just stared at him a moment longer before turning on her heels to leave. Loki pulled away from the illusion and found the sky was dark on Alfheim.

 _What in Hel is happening there?_ He wondered. He had not harmed Odin the entire time, merely leaving him in concealment under Odinsleep. He'd visited him right before going to Jane's study to read her journals and he had been perfectly healthy. Loki sighed. This was going to severely thwart his original plan.

Just then Jane stirred and suddenly shot upright. Loki jumped a little bit, startled.

"Jane?" he said cautiously.

She turned to him, her eyes Jötunn red, and said in her Jötunn voice, "Odin is dead."

Loki's eyes widened.

"How do you know that?" he demanded.

Jane closed her eyes and shook her head, as if coming out of a trance. Her eyes were brown again when she reopened them.

"No, I just know." She said in her normal voice. "I just felt it. Do you know what happened?"

"You just felt it?" Loki asked.

"Don't be mad. I have no clue what happened." Jane said.

Loki immediately pushed into her mind, but she blocked him.

"Damnit, Jane!" Loki yelled.

"Fuck you." She said. "I'm not letting you in."

Loki glared at her and she glared back.

Finally he relaxed and said, "I'll explain what I know if you explain what you know. Though would it not be easier if we just accessed each other's thoughts?"

Jane shook her head. Whatever she had just experienced was not something Loki needed to know she could do. It was almost like a prophecy had come through her in her dream. As if she had received a vision.

"I just felt his death." She said. "I felt his lifeforce being taken."

This was a lie. She had seen it happen. She had seen Odin's lifeforce being taken from his body to Valhalla. She had seen Frigga smiling as he arrived in the hall. Then Frigga had looked past Odin, directly to her, and said, "Your time has come, Jane."

"But how? You would need to either be another species all together or possess the soul gem to actually feel someone's death." Loki said, his mind busy. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you were linked to Odin." Loki said.

"What does that mean?"

"When two people's fates are linked, the death of one is experienced by the other." Loki said. "I was linked to Frigga, for example. When she died to save you, it was too overbearing to handle."

"So, is that what happened to you now with Odin?" Jane asked realizing that Loki was acting like he already knew of Odin's death.

Loki contemplated lying to Jane. Finally he decided the truth was more useful.

"No. Sif told my imprisoned illusion. I'm now on trial for his murder."

"But you didn't kill him." Jane said.

"Yes, I know." Loki said.

"How will that even work? They'll know you're an illusion. You aren't there. Can you even make yourself solid from here?"

"So many questions, Jane." Loki said. "I thought you were going to sleep? It's nighttime now."

Jane finally took notice of the dark.

"No stars?" she asked.

"We're above the stars. I already explained that." Loki said.

"I know, but it's just...unsettling." Jane said. "The stars ground me."

Loki smiled sweetly and said, "If you close your eyes, I'm sure you can imagine the stars."

"You're not getting in my mind." Jane eyed him.

Loki just grinned.

"What are we going to do now?" Jane asked. "Surely this was not in your original plan."

"You underestimate me!"

"No, I don't." Jane said. "Do you know what happened to Odin? How did he die?"

"Sif said he was sick." Loki said.

"Oh." Jane said, frowning.

"What?" Loki asked. "What do you know?"

"Just something Skaði said on Vanaheim."

"Wait, you know Skaði? You acted like strangers on Jötunheim." Loki said.

"Like I said, you don't really know me at all." Jane smiled smugly. "How do you know Skaði?"

"Hm." Loki uttered. "What did she tell you Vanaheim?"

"Nothing," Jane said. "She mentioned a darkness in Asgard. But everyone was afraid of you then, thinking it was Odin, I just assumed that was what she meant."

"Darkness?" Loki said, thinking of the grey skin of the Æsir.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Jane asked, but her lips weren't moving.

Loki quickly cleared his mind best he could, but he was running two illusions on two realms and there was no way to entirely blank out.

"Get out." He said.

"Nope, think I'm gonna poke around." Jane thought into his head.

She was delighted to find that her own thoughts were private when she was inside his mind. She could feel his annoyance, not that she was in there but that was learning true magic so quickly.

"So, show me these sick people." She said.

Loki's mind struggled and then finally gave in and released the visual to her. She scanned Sif's expression and saw something Loki had clearly missed: worry. Sif was very worried about something. The way she said Thor's name was too ominous. Thor would've delivered this news himself. Why hadn't he? _What are they keeping from Loki?_ Jane wanted to go deeper, to see more of Loki's life from prison. She needed more pieces to make the puzzle whole. But another memory took over his mind, Loki unable to stop it.

Jane first felt his arousal. She looked to see what was causing it and found herself staring at two Jötunn eyes that belonged to Skaði. She was approaching Loki, undressing as she did. Jane felt Loki take Skaði into his arms, the surge of lust coursing throughout. There was more though, a tenderness buried within him. Jane realized he'd had feelings for Skaði.

Skaði was biting him, moving down his chest. She could see from Loki's perspective how his Jötunn body looked naked. She started to memorize the details of Skaði in the scene. Maybe this would be her way back to Asgard. If she could imitate Skaði long enough to fool Loki, he'd have to keep his end of the deal. Especially now with Odin dead. In what world would Loki leave an open throne unclaimed? No world Jane could imagine. The sensation of physical pleasure slammed her hard and she realized Skaði had taken Loki into her mouth.

"Are you enjoying this, Jane?" Loki's voice said into her ear. "If I recall correctly, this particular instance is going to last quite a while. You may want to get more comfortable."

Jane pulled herself from his mind, rubbing her eyes at the pain. She still felt turned on and tried to process that she had just experienced being a male. She shuddered and her body hit Loki's as she did. She saw he was much closer than before, sitting next to her, nearly touching her thigh with his own. As he held his head in pain, she wondered if the memory was even real.

"So, you and Skaði, huh?" Jane asked in a teasing voice.

"Oh, she hates me." Loki said, still holding his head.

"Not from the vantage point I had."

"Yeah," Loki said. He looked at Jane and shrugged, "Old memory."

"Pre-New York?" Jane asked.

"Just barely, yes." Loki said.

"Your timeline is somewhat predictable." Jane said.

Loki nodded and then felt recovered.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked her, smirking.

"No, I didn't." Jane said. "Maybe some other time."

"I can just show you now." Loki laughed. "I'm sure Thor will be thrilled to learn that you slept with his brother."

Jane was confused for a moment and then realized Loki had meant the sexual memory when he asked if she found what she was looking for. _Men._ She thought.

"You truly are a fool, Loki." She said. Her voice was distant, almost wistful.

Loki's hand moved to her thigh, the jeans' fabric keeping them in non-Jötunn form. Jane grabbed his wrist and removed his hand from her body.

"Don't touch me without permission." She snarled.

Loki raised his eyebrows at her, but said nothing. He moved away from her to the other side of the boat.

"I'm sleeping now." He said. "I won't be going easy on you tomorrow, so you'd better get some rest."

Jane put up a secondary mind block and lay down on the boat. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and stared at the starless sky. Frigga's words replayed in her mind.

_Your time has come._

_The mortal is unique._

Jane sighed. Nothing made sense. She closed her eyes, hoping to shut off her mind. She wondered how Loki did it. They'd only been here what seemed like a day and Jane felt like her mind would never stop. It was exhausting, even for her. _Perhaps this is why he is insane._ She mused.

The sound of Loki's steady breathing filled the otherwise silent air. She tried to enter his mind, but he was blocking her.

"Go to sleep, Jane." Loki murmured.

After a moment his rhythmic breathing resumed and Jane let her mind focus only on that. Eventually she fell asleep.

~.~.~

Jane's rest was not peaceful. First she had a nightmare about the aether. It was similar to the ones she'd had right after it possessed her. There had been months of nightmares for her. Thor would hold her when she was with him, but when she was alone, when Thor was away, she would imagine herself wrapped in Loki's cloak. Those nights it felt like her only protection against the darkness inside of her.

Tonight was no different. The aether possessed her, she used it to spread darkness to all the realms, and then it left her no longer needing a host. When she woke alone in her bed, she was on Asgard. A green cloak was beside her, so she wrapped it around her body to calm down. But the cloak was attached to Loki. He wrapped his body around her. The cloak was over her head and he pulled it tightly around her face until she couldn't breathe. Jane began to suffocate in the green fabric until she finally screamed, "This isn't real!"

She woke with a start, gasping for air. Loki was sitting up across the boat, staring at her.

"You have a really complicated relationship with me, Jane." He said.

"No," Jane sputtered, trying to compose herself. "I don't have any relationship with you."

"I see." He said with his eyebrows raised.

How he said those words reminded Jane of breaking up with Thor. She realized too late her mind was still vulnerable to Loki.

"What is this?" Loki said. "You too have shattered the heart of the mighty Thor? My, my, Jane! We have more in common than I realized."

Jane said nothing.

"You've been keeping secrets. How exciting!" Loki continued. "What more will I discover in your head?"

Jane lay back down, too exhausted to fight.

"Go ahead, ravage me." She thought bitterly. "My brain is all yours. Take it. Take it all."

She could hear Loki sigh and then the pain of his mind's removal overcame her. She blinked away tears of pain in lieu of holding her head. Loki left her mind alone the rest of the night. Discovering that she had broken up with Thor triggered the basis of a new plan and he needed to work out the details.

Jane fell asleep again, unable to stay awake. This time she had what felt like a vision. It was one of death. She saw the whole of Asgard wrapped in a shadow that seeped into its veins like the venom of a snake. The people were dying with no hope. She saw Sif unable to stand, so overcome with grief. Behind her lay Thor. His body was ashen and his lifeforce dwindled.

One of Odin's ravens, Muninn, spoke then, saying, "Who will lead the realms? Who will deliver us into the light?"

Muninn stared at Jane with his cold brown eye until the other raven, Huginn, joined him. As the vision pulled away, Jane found herself looking at her own reflection in the mirror of the King's Chambers. Muninn and Huginn were perched on her shoulders. In her hand was the royal scepter.

Jane's reflection said to the ravens, "I will save Asgard. I will lead the realms."


	9. Chapter 9

**_Songs for this chapter: "Undisclosed Desires" by Muse; "The World Waits" by Murray Gold_ **

* * *

Jane awoke from the vision to a blue sky overhead. She could hear Loki moving on the boat, but she felt that she wasn't ready to face him yet. _Why am I now having visions? Is it because of Alfheim?_ Jane wondered. _And what did that vision mean? I'm to rule Asgard?_ It did not seem possible. More importantly, though, if this vision was legitimate, it meant Asgard was dying. Thor was dying. They would have to go back soon if they were to make any difference at all. She wondered how much Loki knew.

As if on cue, Loki's face hovered into her immediate vision, a mad grin on his face. She blinked, adjusting to the proximity of his face, and he smiled wider.

"Time for training, crazy girl." He said.

"I'm crazy? Compared to what?" Jane asked.

"I saw your dream, remember?" he said. "I watched you working through your emotions for me."

"Having emotions for you would make me crazy." Jane remarked dryly. "How lucky I do not."

"Yes, well, I'm teaching you how to fight today, so let's hope you can focus. Wouldn't want you dying on me."

"Why do I need to be able to fight?"

"Because everyone in Asgard can fight." Loki spat. "Honestly, Jane, what were you doing all those hours in the library reading about Asgard?"

"You were watching me the whole time. You tell me." Jane shrugged.

They had leapt down to the meadow during the conversation and Loki now pulled out his dagger. Jane had never used a weapon before and was unsure what to conjure. She found herself holding twin sais like Raphael in the ninja turtles and had to laugh at this. How she would use these she had no idea. She changed to twin daggers instead and Loki began to circle her.

"First I'll fight as Æsir," he said. "Then Vanir and then Jötunn. You will need to be able to take on them all."

Jane didn't ask why. She didn't push for clarity of his plan. Whatever he was doing, she knew she needed to know how to fight for her own prophecy. Suddenly she knew what weapon to use. She moved away from Loki and conjured her daggers it into a bow and arrows.

"Long range?" Loki asked. "I always prefer close combat. It's much more intimate."

"Should I fight to my enemy's strengths or to my own?" Jane asked. The bow wasn't exactly a strength though, given that she'd never done archery.

"You should be able to adapt." He said, throwing his dagger at her. She dodged it easily and shot an arrow at him. Loki didn't move as the arrow whizzed by him.

"You call that your strength?" Loki frowned.

Jane shot another arrow, this time it was somewhat on target. Loki caught it easily and hurled it back at her, guiding it with magic as it flew. Jane couldn't dodge it and it struck her purposefully in the arm. To her surprise, it barely stung and she ripped it from her flesh to leave a bleeding wound.

Loki was in front of her then and she pushed the bloody arrow against his chest.

"I'm going to heal you." He said, casually disassembling the atoms of the arrow as if it posed no threat at all. "You need to learn to use your strengths."

Jane glared at him.

"Stop glaring and watch." He said, rolling his eyes. His hands hovered over the wound and green light emanated from his palms. She could feel the broken tissue weave itself back together until finally the whole thing was sealed, leaving just the blood stain and rip on her shirt sleeve.

Loki lifted her shirt hem to expose her stomach and sliced her lightly with his dagger, which he'd conjured back to himself from behind Jane.

"Ow." Jane said even though it hadn't hurt.

"Now heal it." Loki said.

He continued to hold up her shirt while she placed her hands over the long wound. On Earth she'd need stitches for this.

"Why is my blood red? Is Jötunn blood red?" Jane asked.

"No, it's bluish black, like the color of your claws." Loki said. "Under mortal guise, you bleed mortal blood."

"I see." Jane said, wondering how her claws actually worked. She'd not realized she even had claws. "And the magic, why is it green? Is that your doing?"

"No," Loki laughed. "No, my clothing is green because of the magic being green. I liked the color of it as a child, that it was only mine and not Thor's."

"I don't even know what to do here." Jane admitted. "I tried to conjure myself back together, but it's clearly not accepting that."

"It's more complex than that." Loki said. "At the risk of sounding sentimental, you need to feel it from the heart."

"You're never at risk of sounding sentimental." Jane smirked. "No one would believe it."

"Shall I count how many times I have saved your life, Jane?"

"Refraining from killing me doesn't count as saving my life."

"It should." Loki protested.

Jane laughed at his absurdity and this triggered the energy flow. She didn't have to imagine anything, it was all physically driven by her feelings.

"This is so weird." She said. "The mind stuff I get. But this is…"

"Too emotional. I know." Loki nodded. "I blame the elves."

"The dark elves?" Jane asked, alarmed.

"No, no, the light elves. The Ljósalfar." Loki said. "They're the originators of true magic. I told you this."

"Is that why you brought me here, so it would be easier to learn?"

Loki winced before saying, "On the contrary. It should be harder to learn here. One does not whet their blade on a soft stone, after all."

"So, why is it so easy?" Jane said.

"I don't know. Perhaps the Ljósalfar favor you. You are far more gifted at magic than shooting arrows." Loki shrugged. "Which is why I need you to focus on your strengths. What do you hate the most, Jane?"

"What?" she asked.

"You are Jötunn. Your greatest asset is also your greatest curse. The Jötnar are known and feared for their absolute rage. When they hate something, they're nearly unstoppable. So, what do you hate?"

"I hate you." Jane said casually.

"No, you really don't. Jötnar cannot hate their own kind. It's against their principles."

"How are you my own kind? We're not even from the same tribe plus you're Æsir and I'm Human." Jane said. "And I wasn't raised Jötunn, so why would I have adapted their principles?"

"It's in your blood!" Loki yelled.

"It's in yours too and you killed Laufey, another Jötunn and your father. Surely you had to hate him in order to kill him!"

"No, I hated Odin!" Loki snarled. "Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because you asked what I hate." Jane cried. "And if I'm not allowed to hate you, then I don't think I hate anything."

"Then you're lost." Loki said. "Because hate is the only way to harness all of your power."

"Surely there is another way. Perhaps you were never patient enough to figure it out!" Jane shot back.

"What about Malekith?" Loki asked.

"Thor killed him. What's left to hate?" Jane said.

"Yet he plagues your dreams?"

"You were in my head. Did you see Malekith?"

"No," Loki realized.

"No. It was me and darkness and you trying to murder me—which by the way is the first time that happened."

"The darkness then. You hate that?"

"I'd say I fear it more than hate it." Jane said.

"What you'd become if you unleashed the darkness?" Loki tried.

"It's a dream, not real, so I can't really hate it."

"But if it was real? You're immortal now so you could viably possess an infinity stone. What if you had the aether again, but this time you destroyed everything?"

"I wouldn't do that!" Jane protested.

"How do you know?" Loki yelled. "How do you know where you'll stop when you have no limits?"

"Why can't I just hate you, Loki?" she screamed.

"Because I don't want you to!" he screamed back. Loki transported himself away from her, appalled with his admission.

Jane gasped. It wasn't the first time Loki had shown emotion towards her since he took her from Asgard, but it was certainly the most direct occurrence. His first rule of training on Alfheim ran through her head again, particularly the part where he'd said, "At no point should you think I care for you in any remote way." Jane decided he was just attempting to bait her now. He probably just wanted to practice fighting and thought this would trigger her. She wondered if she should go over to him.

Jane looked at the world as atoms and saw all the dark matter in the air. The seeming voids between the visible atoms. He was going to teach her this today, how to use dark matter. She puzzled it out and realized it was how he transported himself. She had thought he disappeared and then reappeared, but it wasn't at all the case.

With renewed excitement, Jane began to map a route to where Loki stood brooding. If she moved a few atoms out of the way, she could take a straight line there. Green and gold flowed from her and she found herself pulling apart to fly through the dark matter pathway. At the destination, her atoms reassembled and she wiped off her jeans as if a stray gas particle had gotten caught up in the material.

"Hey," she said softly.

Loki visibly jumped and Jane couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Why are you so good at this?" he yelled.

"You chose me for a reason." Jane said. "You said so yourself. You didn't pick anyone else. Not Sif, not Skaði, not Thor, hell, not even Lorelei."

"Lorelei? What in Hel does she have to do with anything?"

"I'm just throwing out names, Loki. I don't even know how who Lorelei is really." Jane said.

"She's a sorceress quim who gives excellent fellatio." Loki said without much emotion. "Why?"

"No reason." Jane said. She decided the Skaði shapeshifting idea was out. Clearly Loki preferred blow jobs and that was nowhere in the cards for Jane. She tried to remember why she'd come over here in the first place, but the image of Loki's memory of Skaði kept playing in her head. She decided to focus on him instead of Skaði if she had to relive this. His smooth abs, much more visibly shaped than Thor's due to his slenderness. His muscular hand grabbing Skaði's hair. His taut forearm, icy blue.

"Jane?" Loki said softly.

She looked at him quickly, snapping out of the memory's image. He was in Jötunn form. She looked down and saw that she was holding his forearm. No, she was stroking it. _God, how embarrassing._ She groaned inwardly.

She dropped her hand, not looking back at him. She heard him laugh.

"I cannot recall now what we were doing or talking about." Loki said. "But I think you need some actual fight training."

"Yes, please." Jane said and nodded, eager to never mention what just happened.

"If you do find something to hate, I'll know." He added before taking a swing at her.

Jane had not been paying attention and went flying across the meadow. She landed on all fours again and looked up in time to see Loki charging. She duplicated herself and then transported herself behind him. He stopped mid-run and spun to face her, a grin on his face.

"That's my go-to!" he exclaimed.

"It's so obvious." Jane said.

"I know. Yet everyone falls for it!"

"Everyone but us." Jane said.

"They cannot see the way we can."

"No," Jane said. "There is no one like us."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized they were undeniably true.

"Maybe on another galaxy." Loki smiled. "I haven't visited them all."

They were circling each other now, both shielding their minds from the other.

"Not that I'm not enjoying our little tête-a-tête, but I thought you were teaching me to fight different species and not just you?" Jane said.

"You're right." Loki said. "Come here."

"Um…we're fighting?"

"No, I need to turn us Jötunn." He explained.

Jane went to him, still blocking her mind and he placed her hand on the side of his neck. They changed form and Loki let out a growl as he extended his claws. He dug into his wrist and smattered some of his blood on Jane's face.

"That's really gross." She said.

"Shut up." He said, mimicking her voice.

He then dug into her wrist with a clean claw and put her blood on his skin. The pain of his cut in her arm felt good, almost in a sensual way. Her claws extended from her fingers in a feline manner and without meaning to do so, she let out a growl as it happened. Part of Jane wanted to rip Loki apart just to feel the bone under his flesh. She was hardly disturbed by this thought; it just felt so right.

"You're gonna need to move." Jane said. "Otherwise, I'm actually about to kill you."

"I'd like to see you try." Loki challenged.

Jane felt the anger bubbling in her. Like a shaken soda, she was ready to explode. Loki gave her a red-eyed smirk and it set her over the edge. She tore deeply into him with her claws, letting out a howling growl as she did. Loki fought back and they were soon bounding around the field like two massive animals. Jane couldn't think about anything but inflicting pain on Loki. She wanted him to beg her for mercy. She wanted to see the look in his eye when she went for the kill.

After what felt like an hour of running and clawing and gnashing, Jane had Loki pinned beneath her. She was about to bite him behind the ear when she felt his mouth on the space behind her ear. The illusion beneath her shimmered away and she grew hot with embarrassment. Loki kissed the space his mouth occupied and stood up, spinning her body to face his.

"Use your strengths." He said.

Jane stood up easily, her stance even with his.

"Why do I want to kill you so badly?" she asked.

Loki shrugged and said, "I guess you found something to hate."

Jane looked at her body, which was covered in cuts and seeping blackish-blue blood. She surveyed Loki and was pleased that he looked equally as beat up.

"We need to clean up." Loki said. "Otherwise our Jötunn blood will just linger and we'll stay in this form."

"Is that so bad?" Jane asked.

"You've really taken to the Jötnar." He said, giving her an amused look.

"I'm just not biased against them." Jane said. "They are pretty awesome. You realize they are all intellectuals and scientists? They make the Æsir look like apes. And don't even get me started on the Vanir."

"And what of the Humans? Do you have such disrespect for them as well?" Loki pressed.

"Don't pretend your opinion differs." Jane sneered. "You think the Æsir a pathetic bunch of fools!"

"Who is this new Jane?" Loki asked. His red eyes were full of life and excitement. "I like her!"

"You've always liked me." Jane said.

She transported herself to the boat and started it up. As she was flying away Loki transported himself to the boat deck.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"I'm bored. I'm going to see more of Alfheim. You're welcome to join me." Jane said.

Loki took the controls from her forcefully. Jane snarled at him and he roared back.

"Maybe I was unclear before." He said. "The Ljósalfar will not permit us to be here if we are not in their favor. If we go pushing into their affairs, they will kill us."

Loki turned the boat back towards where they had been.

"You were not clear about that." Jane said.

She started conjuring Loki's blood from her body and throwing it over the edge of the boat. Finally she changed form back to Human and a sense of horror passed through her as she realized that she would have murdered him without a second thought. Yet he didn't kill her.

"How do you control it?" Jane asked.

"The urge to kill?" Loki clarified.

"Yes."

"I can't." Loki said.

"But you didn't kill me."

"I never wanted to." He said. "You wanted to kill me though. What happened?"

"Your blood." Jane said quietly. "You turned me into an animal."

"A monster." Loki corrected her.

"The Jötnar are not monsters." Jane said.

"And yet you can't control your urge to kill." Loki mused. "Interesting definition."

He had landed the boat by then and jumped to the ground. Jane stayed in the boat, sitting with her knees pulled to her chest. _What has happened to me?_ She thought.

"We're not done training." Loki called to her.

"I can't." Jane said.

"Don't tell me you're having an identity crisis now." Loki groaned. "New species, new capacities, new morals. It's fine."

"For you, perhaps." Jane said.

"Oh, I was much more petulant than this. You don't remember The Destroyer in Puente Antiguo? Come on, Jane."

He was in front of her now, sitting cross legged and trying to make eye contact with her.

"Wait," Jane said. "Is this you trying to be nice?"

"No, I just want to complete your training before I go reclaim Asgard." Loki said. "Trust me, you'll know when I'm being nice."

"Because the world will end?" Jane asked.

Loki laughed.

"Seriously though, Jane, you're hardly in an uncontrollable state. I'd already killed my birth father and betrayed my family and was going to Midgard to rule the mortals by this stage of my identity crisis." Loki said. "See how well you're faring?"

Jane looked at him with a sudden ferocity. His mention of Midgard triggered the memory of Erik's shattered mind and soul. He would never be the same person again. It was a direct result of what Loki now called his 'identity crisis' as if all the damage he'd inflicted was merely a blip on his road to maturity. His casual egoism enraged Jane.

"What?" Loki asked cautiously, taking in her expression's sudden change.

"You destroyed the lives of so many people I love." Jane said. Her voice was fierce.

Loki was taken aback. "Who?" he asked.

"Erik, Tony, Bruce, Pepper, Sif, Thor. Not to mention Odin." Jane spouted off even if she wasn't sure she loved Odin. "And let's not forget that you murdered Coulson, who wasn't my favorite person, but still, he didn't deserve it."

"Okay, but he did shoot me with an orka-powered weapon." Loki said. "And Banner hurt me far more than I hurt him."

"No, Loki. No!" Jane said. "You don't get it."

"You want to sit here and judge me just like everyone else, as if you are without any flaws yourself?" Loki spat.

"Who have I killed?" Jane whispered. "Who have I stolen life from?"

Loki said nothing.

"You think you're beyond reproach? That somehow everyone's disgust with you is misplaced?" Jane said. "If you truly believe that, then you are a bigger fool than I realized."

"I know I am reprehensible." Loki hissed. "But nothing I did was of malicious intent."

"Bullshit!" Jane yelled. "You snuck Jötnar into Asgard to steal the tesseract without even stopping to consider how many lives would be lost. _Could_ be lost. You murdered hundreds of people on my home planet and your Chitauri lackeys killed thousands. You are swimming in innocents' blood! Drowning in it!"

"Perhaps _you_ can hate me." Loki muttered.

"I do hate you." Jane said.

She felt so angry, but she knew that even now she did not hate Loki. She could not bring herself to do so despite how much she wanted to. It was a tiresome feeling, the knowledge from Nál that he and all his horrible attributes were set to be linked to her life for the foreseeable future. She resented the Norns for this. If she hated anything, it was fate.

Jane stood up and conjured her Jötunn blood from Loki. He turned Æsir again and Jane said, "Let's train."

* * *

Deep within the palace of Asgard, Sif's mental state was faring worse than Jane's. Thor had begun to display the early signs of the illness shortly after they had rekindled their relationship, which were an overall fatigue coupled with a loss of taste. At the time of Odin's passing, Thor could still walk and stand as normal, but his complexion was the wan grey of the other sick Æsir.

Tradition stipulated that after the funeral processions there was a minimum of two weeks mourning for the king except in times of war. At the pressing of the small council, which consisted of Heimdall, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and one of Odin's advisors named Reifnir, Thor assumed the throne quicker than tradition allowed. The council argued the spread of the illness could be likened to wartime since the Æsir were immune to all other diseases so there was nothing in place to combat its spread. No one wanted Asgard to be without a king in such perilous times.

The small council gathered now in Glaðsheimr, the Council Room within Iðavöllr Hall. It was Thor's first council meeting officially as king, but he had been leading them for awhile so it hardly felt different. Sif reflected that what she had thought was Odin grooming Thor for his ruling duties was actually Loki the entire time. She wondered if they would discuss Loki's trial at this meeting. She had already visited Loki in his cell to inform him he stood accused of regicide.

Thor's grey skin stood in stark contrast to splendor of Glaðsheimr's gold inlaid columns and furniture. He now carried the royal scepter everywhere, but only Sif knew it was because he could barely walk without assistance. She feared what was coming. She feared they would try to separate her from him so she would not also get sick. That she not be permitted by his bedside. She was determined not to allow this, even if she had to fight her friends.

"My king, the illness spreads exponentially. Our attempts to contain it within the palace seem to have failed." Fandral said from the far end of the council table. "It has spread throughout the city and some accounts are coming from as far away as Fornsigtuna."

The realm of Asgard was not very large, just double the size of the Fólkvangr province in Vanaheim, and it was easy for the council members to believe the plague had spread to its far reaches. Fornsigtuna lay beyond the Askjafjöll Mountains in the valley where the dwarves of the Niðavellir realm occasionally were permitted to dwell due to its proximity to the mountain quarries.

"We will send them aid." Thor said. He looked at Volstagg, who was from Fornsigtuna.

"That is a kind offer, my king, but there is no aid to send. We are short on supplies as it is." Volstagg said before adding tentatively, "We will have to reopen our ports."

"No." Thor said.

Everyone looked at him, waiting for a real explanation. They had closed their ports and portals to prevent the spread of the plague to other realms. It was a defensive tactic as well, to contain the news of Asgard's weakened state in order to avoid attack.

"What about opening them just to Vanaheim?" Fandral suggested. "Their harvest is nearly complete. We soon will require that food. Our stores begin to run low, my king."

"Based on what Sif told me upon her return from Vanaheim, the Vanir Court cannot be trusted." Thor said.

"I agree." Heimdall said. "When Sif and Jane visited their realm, I linked myself to Jane's mind. We no longer can rely on the Vanir."

Sif looked at Heimdall, masking her surprise. This meant he knew that she failed Jane and in turn Thor. She quickly realized it too meant that Jane had lied to her. _This plague began right after Jane left Asgard._ Sif thought. _What if she had something to do with it?_

"I have a suggestion." Heimdall began. His tone indicated that no one would approve of it, but he continued without prompt. "We could call on Midgard for help. They have no means to attack or exploit us, and Jane Foster is familiar with the Æsir genetic code. Perhaps she would have the building blocks to create a cure?"

"Absolutely not." Thor said harshly.

"Thor, they did have a similar plague on Midgard only seven hundred years ago." Fandral pointed out.

"I said no." Thor said. "I will not risk any mortals' lives for our own."

Fandral looked away and Heimdall stared at Thor. Volstagg ate the remaining piece of cheese from the lunch platter and Reifnir coughed lightly. Sif placed a hand on Thor's upper arm.

"Thor," she said softly. "If we do nothing, then we will all die."

Thor took Sif's hand and smiled at her reassuringly. His grey flesh was cold against her own, even colder than it had been that morning when she woke next to him in the royal chambers.

"I am not suggesting we do nothing." Thor said. "Look at us. Only one here has the illness. What if there is a way to prevent it? To cure it?"

"What do you mean?" Sif asked.

"I believe we should study each uninfected person and compare them to me." Thor said.

Sif knew this was something Jane would suggest. This was science.

"Who is qualified to do that? All the healers are sick or dead." Fandral said.

"Have you no sense of learning, my friends?" Thor said. "We will be the ones to do this."

No one responded.

Finally Thor stood, he used the table for support as he said with a kind enthusiasm to the council, "This is our chance to survive. We must pursue it."

Sif saw him sway before everyone else, standing immediately to try and break the force of his fall as he collapsed. The rest of the group quickly moved to help her. Sif heard Heimdall's voice begin to give orders. Somebody had to. Thor was still breathing and Sif accompanied Fandral and Volstagg as they carried him back to the royal chambers. She helped them tuck him into the massive bed.

"I will stay with him." Sif said. "Go and see what else Heimdall requires."

"My lady," Volstagg began. He looked from Thor's ashen, limp body to Sif's hard eyes, wet with tears. "Let us know what you need."

Sif nodded and waited for them to close the chamber door before she removed her breastplate and climbed into the bed next to Thor. She wrapped her arm over his body and stroked his chest.

"Wake up, my love. Wake up." she whispered. She meant Thor initially, but as she said the words a second time, she longed for her own self to wake from this terrible dream.

As she began to cry she felt Thor move beneath her. His fingers brushed her skin lightly and she shifted so she could see his face. His eyes were closed.

"Thor?" she said.

"It is cold." He murmured.

"Let me warm you." Sif said, moving more of her body onto his to give its warmth to him.

"Do not leave me." Thor said.

"No," Sif said. She kissed him lightly. "You have my word, I never will."

~.~.~

If Thor's final orders were being carried out, no one informed Sif. The days passed and Thor's energy continued to dwindle. She never left his side, just as she had promised him. She wanted to be there for the rare times he would speak, even if it was feverish mumbling for the most part. This was not an opinion others shared, notably Fandral and Volstagg, and Sif found herself defending her proximity to Thor more and more as time went on.

Fandral in particular seemed the most concerned and Sif in her solitude started to wonder if he was vying for the throne. She could imagine it. He was charismatic enough and he had been Odin's top advisor for several years. Sif stared at the shuttered balcony of the chamber and remembered how close he and Jane had been. How Fandral had always been fascinated with Loki, even when Loki proved himself the devil she always knew him to be. _What if the three of them planned this?_ Sif thought.

The pieces made more and more sense as she linked them in her mind. Jane had never cared for Thor, only for Fandral. They had met just a day after she met Thor, after all, and Fandral always referred to Jane as Thor's "lovely mortal." Then there was the familiarity Jane had shown with Loki the first they met. It made Sif wonder if it had actually been the first time. _Who had monitored the guards who oversaw visitation to Loki's cell?_ She mused. _Fandral._

Sif stood abruptly and began to pace the room. If Fandral meant to usurp the throne, then he would probably attempt to expedite Thor's death. _This is why he continues to try and separate me from Thor_ , Sif realized. _He desires unrestricted access to him._ She needed to further fortify the chamber. She would permit no one entry unless accompanied by one of Thor's guards. She also needed someone to follow Fandral and report back his activities to her. _Whom can I trust though?_ She wondered. Options ran through her mind like a roster. Most of the names belonged to those already ill or with uncertain alliances. Finally she knew who it had to be: Abigæl, Jane's lady's maid. Thor had continued to employ her even after Jane departed Asgard, so she knew her loyalties lied with Thor. Plus Sif had always had a good relationship with the girl. Most importantly, though, she was still in good health.

Sif went to Thor's bedside again, brushing some strands of his faded gold hair away from his face as she said softly, "I will salvage your legacy, my love. No matter the cost."

She went outside the chamber to speak with the guards. She informed them to double security of the King's Quarters and not to permit anyone entry without alerting her first. Then she sent for Abigæl and went back into the bedroom. Thor remained asleep and Sif opened the door to the balcony to get some fresh air. As she rested her hands on the carved stone railing, the promise she made Gersemi came back to her. With Thor this ill, Sif did not know how she would be able to marry him before it was too late. She would not become queen and influence his decisions. She would have to find another way to help Gersemi ensure the demise of Freyr and Valfreyja's reign.

The city below her was still. Though it was midday, no one was outside. She knew they were bedridden like Thor. Surely more people were unaffected like she and most of the council seemed to be; Volstagg had informed her that Reifnir fell ill two days ago. But it was so quiet that she could hear the Ægir Sea's waves in the distance. Even the ravens were silent, falling ill just as easily as the Æsir. It seemed the plague made no distinction.

 _Why am I still well?_ Sif wondered for the millionth time. The guilt of survival began to emerge and she suppressed it again, thinking instead of how she could have been blind to Fandral and Jane's plotting all this time.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Songs for this chapter: "Sacrilege" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs; "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse_ **

* * *

After what felt like ages of Loki beating Jane at Æsir and Vanir combat in their Alfheim meadow, both of them were spent. Loki conjured some passable dinner from the organic matter in the grass, soil, and nearby trees and they ate in silence.

Not needing as much to eat was a benefit of being Jötunn. Not being able to taste food any longer was both benefit and disadvantage. Tonight though, Jane felt it was a definite benefit. The indulgences of Asgard and Vanaheim seemed so trivial under her new taste buds, and Jane wondered how Loki managed growing up so surrounded by food. She didn't ask. Instead she lay down in the grass and conjured a blanket to wrap around herself. It was not cold, but the blanket gave her a sense of comfort, a lingering sentiment from her human life. She looked at her blanket and saw it was bright green. She laughed to herself and closed her eyes, too tired to change its color. The night before she'd thought she'd never be as tired as she was then, but after all the physical activity of the day, tonight proved her wrong. Soon she was asleep, not caring if Loki crept into her mind.

That night, she had another one of what she had come to call visions. It took place on Jötunheim. In it, Loki was naked in his Æsir form, chained to a rock underneath a great serpent. The set up was familiar to Jane from a painting that she had seen in the Tromsø Museum during her time working in Norway. The painting was part of the Ragnarök section in the mythology room, and depicted Loki tied down just like this. Of course, Loki in the painting was not the actual Loki as she saw him in the vision now. Ragnarök, if it was even a real thing, had not happened, or at least she did not think it had since nearly all the characters in it were still alive in her world, so she focused on the vision more intensely.

Besides Loki being himself in the vision, the most immediate difference she could see was that the serpent glowed in a burning way that suggested it was made impossibly of stars. Her mind connected that the serpent was the flesh form of the Jörmungandr constellation. In Earth's stories of Ragnarök the serpent who tortured Loki was not Jörmungandr. In fact, it was Thor who ultimately was killed by Jörmungandr in the mythology's folklore.

In the vision though, venom made of starlight dripped steadily from Jörmungandr's fangs into a bowl that a woman was holding. The woman was turned away from Jane and she could not see her face. In the myth that went with the painting, this woman was Sigyn, Loki's wife. The idea of Loki having a wife was ludicrous to Jane, but in the vision she could see that the bowl the woman was holding was about to overflow with venom. The woman too recognized this and hurried to dump the contents into a nearby abyss. While she was gone, the venom continued to drip. Jane watched in horror as it visibly burned the flesh of Loki's chest in a searing hiss that left his pale skin marred with chemical burns. The noise that followed deafened Jane in its howling and haunting roar. It sounded like a tornado just on the other side of a cellar door. Jane became unstable as the ground all around her started to tremble and shake. The rock she was standing on began to descend and she saw there was a giant crack in the rockbed between where she stood and where Loki was tied. She turned behind her to see that she was on the edge of the abyss. Jane leapt towards the now cliff face in order to save herself. Her arms caught the very edge and she fumbled to gain traction with her feet, the ground where she was standing a second before literally having fallen away. As she pulled herself up, she saw that the woman was running back to hold the bowl up over Loki again. Once she was back in her spot, the ground became still again and the noise of Loki's cries of anguish quieted to a small whimper.

"Why is this happening?" Jane called out from the cliff's edge.

The woman turned to face her and Jane saw that she was her own self.

"The wicked are punished in the end." The vision Jane replied. "This is the end of days. This is the start of Ragnarök."

Jane woke from the vision feeling unsettled and upset. She found the sky to be dark. The lack of stars assured she was on Alfheim, not Jötunheim, and she tried to calm her breathing. She still felt unsteady though. What she had seen felt all too real, as if she had been given a glimpse into the future. It reminded her of the Well of Mimir and she blinked a few times as the idea that she had somehow drank from the well and could now see the future spun around in her mind. She thought back to when she last had drunk anything. Nothing on Alfheim. Nothing while she was being examined by the Jötnar. Nál had given her Iðunn's apple.

Then she remembered. Nál had also given her water to wash down the apple. But that wasn't what it had been for at all. Nál had given her the gift of Mimir without even asking. _Why?_ Jane wondered. She knew this meant all the other visions were real; that her fate was to become the queen of Asgard. There was only one way to stop that, and it meant she had to get back to Asgard in time to save Thor from the illness killing him, which she had foreseen the night before.

Jane sat up and found herself alone in the field. She stood and walked to the boat, finding Loki inside, staring at the vacant sky. He looked at her inquisitively. Jane climbed in and slid next to him.

"Loki," she said. It came out as a whisper even though she didn't intend it to.

"You're scared?" Loki asked.

"Another nightmare." She lied.

"Did I kill you in this one?"

"No." Jane barely managed to say, remembering the pain she saw him go through. That he would go through.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

Jane shook her head for a while. Finally she said, "Can I sleep next to you?"

"Yes, of course." Loki said.

"But against you? I just feel like I need to be touching someone." She said.

Loki said nothing and pulled her body against his. He stroked her hair and said, "Close your eyes. Think of Midgard. Think of home."

Jane thought of Jötunheim. She thought of Nál's smile of hope. She thought of Loki's lips lingering on hers when he had given her the human guise and expanded her mind for the inclusion of magic.

Loki's long fingers traced her jawline and the outer edge of her ear, causing their forms to change. She adjusted herself into his chest and wrapped her arm over his slender Jötunn torso. Eventually she fell asleep.

~.~.~

Jane woke to a whimpering sound beneath her and quickly surmised Loki was having a nightmare. She pushed her mind into his and found herself surrounded by Chitauri on a planet foreign to her. She could feel, quite overwhelmingly, Loki's raw fear.

"You have failed, fallen King of Asgard." The Chitauri leader said to Loki. "You thought we would stop looking for you. That Asgardian justice would be enough for Him."

"No," Loki said. "This is not my failure."

"Your words have no meaning without the tesseract!" the leader said. "You have imagined the pain we would inflict on you, I am certain. But all you imagined has been an illustrious sweetness compared to what you will experience now. Your suffering will be beyond measure. Worlds will quake in the tremors of your pain."

Loki said nothing, but Jane could feel his terror. She wanted to comfort him and assure him it was only a dream, but she knew that his final suffering would mimic this dream. It was beyond anyone's power to alter Ragnarök.

The dream continued with the Chitauri leader overseeing the chaining of Loki to a rock structure. A serpent that was different from Jörmungandr hovered in the background, waiting for its cue to attack.

"You thought your death would stop us!" the leader said. "But He never stops. Death is not a boundary He knows, our great leader."

"I didn't die for Him! I didn't die for any of you! Your venomous lies and claims of greatness. You are a wailing breed of reptiles. Vermin to be expunged. To torture me will gain you nothing!" Loki spat in his dream. Jane could tell his words were fabricated from fear and desperation, like when she had begged him for her life on Asgard.

"If you do not work to serve Him, then you have no purpose!" the Chitauri leader said.

Loki made no reply, but Jane could feel his thoughts. He felt regret and dismay. The events of Earth's Battle of New York played out in his mind on a high speed replay. He was skipping what Jane felt was important, what she needed to see. All the moments with Erik were blurred. Finally she saw Thor in real time, trying to speak sense into Loki. She could feel Loki's reaction to himself in the dream. He was so angry with himself for not killing Thor when he had the chance. The replay picked up speed again, landing on the destruction of the Chitauri fleet. Loki's mind had been freed in that moment. Jane realized that Tony's heroics had saved Loki from whoever 'He' was.

The dream resumed on the Chitauri planet with the Chitauri leader laughing at Loki's reverie. Loki didn't visibly react, but Jane felt his inward shudder.

"Let me show you suffering, Prince of Asgard." The Chitauri leader hissed.

The image of Jane filled the space in front of Loki, as if the Chitauri was projecting it onto an invisible screen. Jane watched as the image of herself took in the aether. Her image's body convulsed a few moments before going rigid.

"Look inside of her." The Chitauri urged. "The power you desired mingled with her blood. She should be dead. She will die in moments. Look inside of her, Prince!"

"She is strong." Loki said. "She will not perish. I have seen it."

The image of Jane looked directly at Loki and said in an emotionless tone, "You know nothing of my strength. You know nothing of my suffering. You think you understand pain. You think you know darkness. You tell yourself you know ultimate power. But you have harnessed nothing of those. You are nothing, Loki Laufeyson. You mean nothing and no one will be there to pity you in the end."

Jane wanted to shout that this was untrue; that she would be there. Instead she was overcome by the grief Loki felt. The sense of utter disappointment.

"Forgive me, Jane." She heard him whisper in the dream. She felt the sting of pain he felt as he severed the space behind his ear.

Jane watched in horror as bluish-black blood pooled around him. She could feel him dying in the dream and she realized this was her chance. She quickly looked at the fading images of the Chitauri, memorizing how they looked. Six fingers—four digits and two thumbs. Whitish taut skin. Face covered by a golden grate. No visible eyes. Shrouded by a hood. She could do this. She could get herself out of Alfheim tonight.

~.~.~

Loki could hear Jane calling for him. He had just killed himself to avoid the oncoming torture the Chitauri sought for him, but Jane's voice rang clear. After a long enough moment of not dying from the fatal wound, he realized he was dreaming.

He forced himself awake to find Jane screaming for him as she was dragged away in chains by a Chitauri guard. He conjured a bolt of energy from his lifeforce and threw it at her captor. The captor turned before the bolt hit him and blocked it with a wrist shield. Jane looked back at Loki, her eyes wide with terror.

 _What have I brought her into?_ He thought angrily. The Chitauri had been clear that he could not hide from them. He had to save Jane though. This was not her fight. He moved to stand, but a thick hand pushed against his chest.

"Yes, your whore seems lovely." The hand's owner said. Loki saw it was the Chitauri leader. "She will serve Him well. Unlike you, Prince of Asgard. You have disappointed my master greatly. Then you betrayed Him with your mockery of death. He who commands so much will not be fooled by your petty tricks. You vex Him with your actions. You will pay an even greater price than promised before."

Loki grabbed the Chitauri leader by the throat, hoping to rip out its vocal chords, but the skin was slippery. Soon his fingers burned and he shrieked in pain.

"What is this poison?" Loki cried.

"A taste of what is to come." The leader said, moving in front of him. "You will beg for death, but you will not be granted such a luxury."

Loki was unsure what to do. He always had a plan, even if it wasn't fully formed, but nothing would come to him. The Chitauri leader was approaching him now, ready to bind him in chains. Loki transported himself to the meadow, but the Chitauri was so fast he caught up almost immediately.

"Where will you run?" he asked Loki. "You have nowhere left to go."

Chitauri emerged from every side, closing in on Loki.

"Let her go." Loki said.

"The whore? What is she worth?"

"Let her go." Loki commanded.

"Kill the whore!" the Chitauri leader yelled.

"No!" Loki yelled. He looked up to the boat to see the guard holding Jane captive stab her forcefully through the heart.

"No." Loki breathed. He felt like the force of mjölnir had struck him in the gut and he collapsed to the ground. The Chitauri leader approached him and he tried to find his lungs again. As the leader swiped his hand to grab Loki by the collar, Loki transported himself to Jane's side on the boat.

"You will pay for this." He snarled at the guard who killed her. The guard hissed at him and Loki focused his attention to Jane's body. He wondered if he could heal her still or if the wound was too fatal. He hovered his palms over the gaping hole where her heart should be, the green light emanating from him, but he could see the damage was too great.

Loki knew he could not return to Asgard without Jane alive. Everything was shattered now and the Chitauri had taken from him what he was rightfully owed. He would not go to his eternal suffering without a fight.

He looked back to Jane's limp body, the color fading from her skin. She could not come back as Jötunn after her heart had been forced from her body so violently. He went to push her hair away from her face, but at his touch her body shimmered gold and green then disappeared.

"What?" he uttered.

He looked to the guard and touched him as well. His body too shimmered away. Loki stood and turned to the meadow to find the Chitauri leader. Instead he saw Jane perched on the edge of the boat, taping her wrist as if she wore what Midgardians called a watch.

She looked over at him and said, "I think it's time to go back to Asgard, don't you?"

"That was…" Loki started.

Jane cocked her head.

"You are…" Loki tried again. This time he walked over to her. He picked her up and put her on the floor of the boat. His hands lingered on her waist and he moved his right hand over her ribcage to feel for the warmth of her heartbeat.

Jane pulled his hand from her upper torso and gave him a berating look.

"Sorry. I needed to make sure you still had a heart." He said.

"I am not you." Jane replied.

Loki smiled at this.

"Okay, it's you." He said. "And Jane?"

"Hm?"

"I'm impressed."

"Good. Now let's go." Jane said.

"Not yet." Loki said.

"A deal's a deal." Jane said. "Unless you're planning to betray me again like you did in Utgard?"

"No, I won't betray you again, Jane."

"I wish that were true." Jane said softly.

"We have to wait for Asgard to ask you back." Loki said. "It'll be any day now. Heimdall grows anxious. Whatever is happening there is spreading. Asgard never has plagues, but Midgard frequently does. Heimdall just needs to convince Thor that you can help."

Jane thought about this. Why wouldn't Heimdall just invite her himself if they were in such peril? Unless there was a command against it, Heimdall would call for her. He valued the realm above all else.

"Oh." She thought aloud.

"What?"

"No, it's just… Thor must be king now."

"Odin is only dead a day! The mourning period must end first. It's impossible."

"You're measuring time by the light, but there are no stars here. Light holds no measurement here." Jane said. "You're too intelligent for this, Loki."

Loki groaned and said, "It's so frustrating when you're right."

Jane grinned widely.

"Fine." Loki said. "But first we go to Midgard so you can be transported from there."

"What about you?"

"Oh, that's part of this plan. I'm sneaking into Asgard with you. Otherwise I'm on trial for murder."

"Sneaking in?"

Loki disappeared and then reappeared.

"Sneaking in." he said.

"Okay," Jane said. Her mind was racing now, working out a plan that would benefit only her while still being mostly in conjunction with his plan. "It might work." She added. Her comment was more to herself about her own plan.

"It will work." Loki said. "As long as you don't betray me."

"I'm not you." Jane said. To avoid suspicion she quickly added, "When do we start?"

Loki grinned and pushed past her to the boat's controls.

"You still need more fight training." He said as he flew them back towards the golden canyon.

"I doubt I could ever have enough." Jane said. "You're the only person I've ever fought."

"It's obvious." Loki said.

They were picking up speed now, heading for a curve in the canyon wall. The tiny opening of rock became visible to Jane and she looked around Alfheim once more before they slipped into the rock and accelerated through the portal to Midgard.

The desert's dry wind rushed over Jane's face and she covered her nose against the blast of sand. The wind was roaring and the visibility was abysmal. Loki's passageway had jettisoned them into some kind of sandstorm. She felt him pushing into her brain before she could block him.

"Sorry," he thought into her mind. "Shall we abandon the ship here and transport to your abode?"

"Sure." Jane thought back. "You know where it is or are we going together?"

"Why don't you take us? It'll be good practice." Loki thought.

Jane moved towards him and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Please use both for your first try." Loki thought.

Jane sent an angry thought his way before fully embracing him. She looked to the swirling storm around them, the boat still mid-flight. The visual of atoms made the storm appear even more chaotic.

"Can you do this?" Loki thought in her head.

"Shut up! I'm focusing." She thought back.

"I like my form as it is, you know."

Jane could see a passage from the storm now through the dark matter.

"Your vanity is atrocious." She thought and let her magic flow through both of them. Their atoms moved through the dark matter and out of the sandstorm. From this vantage point Jane could see they were above an enormous desert, but she could not tell which one. The sun was blocked out by a stratus cloud, which seemed odd for the desert and unfortunately rendered it useless for telling direction. She knew the only way to figure out where on Earth they were would be to keep moving and looking for landmarks.

"I don't know Midgard well enough." Loki thought to her. "Reassemble our dropar and we'll figure it out on land."

Jane ignored him and set a course, looking for visuals on the ground. Soon the Hoover Dam came into view. They were going southeast. She corrected them northeast and went full speed. In this form she could not unlink herself from Loki. In fact, it was as if they were one entity hurtling through space. Moments later they materialized on her building's roof in London. Loki immediately went invisible, but stayed linked inside Jane's mind.

"I can't guide you if I don't know where you are." She thought to him.

Loki showed himself and thought back, "Fair enough, but only you can see me through our mindlink. We need to get you inside, cleaned up, and integrated back into life. Then you will have to call Heimdall."

"You're concealing me from him." Jane pointed out.

"Yes, I know. Once you step in for your illusion, I'll drop the concealment. So don't do anything stupid."

"Don't you trust me?" Jane grinned.

Loki wrinkled his nose and Jane took that as a reluctant yes. She made the leap to her balcony and Loki followed. Jane looked out at the familiar view of London for a moment. The rain seemed darker than she remembered, but she thought it might just be her Jötunn eyesight.

"Does the rain look different to you?" she thought to Loki.

"Not especially, but I see a lot of alien rain, so who can know?" Loki thought back.

Jane frowned, but shrugged it off, turning towards her locked apartment. Using magic she unlocked the balcony door and went inside. Everything was in place and her illusion was sitting on the couch engrossed in a journal.

"What is she doing?" she thought to Loki.

"Being clever."

"Can she see us?"

"She is me." Loki thought. "Now go find those clothes in your—"

He stopped once he realized Jane had already conjured matching clothing onto herself. Her skin was free of cuts, bruises and different colored dried blood, and she looked at him to indicate she was ready.

"Well that was quick." Loki smiled.

"We are lacking on time." Jane thought. She kept her mind clear of any thoughts of saving Thor. Loki had to think they were going back entirely for him or else he would sabotage her plan.

"Take the journal and get ready to sit in her place." Loki said, his hand poised to remove the illusion.

Jane hovered over the illusion of herself waiting for Loki's signal.

"Now!" he thought.

Jane grabbed the journal and slid into the illusion, which Loki made disappear at her touch. She felt a weight lifted from her and realized that her concealment was over. She continued to keep her mind clear, despite her excitement, and focused on the journal her illusion had been reading. It was full of equations she didn't know, that she hadn't written, even though they were in her handwriting. After flipping through a few pages she realized it was all equations to make space-time travel possible through the harnessing of dark energy. There was no evidence to support the theory, other than the Bifröst, which might not count as evidence on Earth. It was Loki's handiwork.

As she turned the page, she noticed sketches of possibilities for how to engineer a device that would permit such travel. She flipped through quickly, realizing the sketches took up dozens of pages, focusing on a single design more narrowly as the journal went on. Across the top of the last page of sketches, Tony Stark's personal email address was written in gorgeous calligraphy, but then scratched out quite forcefully, as if Loki desperately meant to conceal the lapse into his own handwriting.

"You could write that gracefully, too. I had training." Loki thought to Jane, reading her mind's reflections on her own ugly handwriting. Truthfully he had enjoyed writing in her squat little scribble. It moved quickly and focused entirely on the content instead of the presentation. It did not try to put on airs and its form reminded him a little bit of the runic writing of the Jötnar. Theirs had always been his favorite alphabet to draw.

"What did you do?" Jane thought demandingly to Loki, referencing Tony's email address.

"Nothing," Loki thought back in a playfully guilty tone.

"Did you email these to Tony?" Jane thought.

"Technically, no." Loki thought.

Jane let out a sigh and tried not to roll her eyes. Heimdall could be watching her and she needed to appear to be alone. She got off the couch, tucked the journal into her jeans' back pocket, and went to search for her cell phone.

"On the kitchen counter." Loki thought to her.

She snatched the phone off the counter and noticed the wall calendar was turned to November.

"That can't be right." Jane said softly out loud. She thought to Loki, "Did you change my calendar month?"

"Of course. You're anal about your calendar, how would it be believable if I hadn't?" he thought back.

Jane felt herself starting to blush and quickly concealed it using magic. Loki laughed, able to read her thoughts of embarrassment at being judged accurately as anal. Jane cleared her throat and unlocked her phone.

'13:08, Wednesday, 26 November' the front screen read. She had moved to Asgard on September 7th. _Oh my god._ Jane thought to herself. _I've been gone more than 2 months?!_

" _We_ have been gone." Loki corrected her through thought. "We were on Jötunheim for a month. So, we must have been on Alfheim for about a month as well."

"This is insane." Jane thought to him. "It felt like a few days on Alfheim."

"Hours have no measure when engrossed in pleasure." Loki thought with a grin. When Jane gave him a confused thought back he replied, "You don't have this saying on Midgard?"

"Sort of. It goes 'Time flies when you're having fun.'" She thought. "Though if our time on Alfheim is what you call 'fun' then we have bigger issues."

"You enjoyed yourself, Jane. Your thoughts can't lie to me." Loki teased. Part of him itched to take Jane back to Alfheim and stay there with her forever. This was of course impractical, but made him glad his new plan did not involve harming Jane like his previous plan had.

"I'm ignoring you now." Jane thought back to Loki.

She looked at her phone and noticed the scores of missed texts. The top one was from Erik and it read, "I'm coming by after lunch to make sure you're alive." She checked the time and date of the text and saw it was from today and only an hour ago. _Shit._ She thought. _We need to go now. Erik's coming._

The doorbell rang.

"Answer it." Loki thought. "It will seem weird to Heimdall if you try to leave now with Selvig on your doorstep."

Jane checked the peephole first, then unlocked the door and gave Erik a smile.

"Hey!" she said. "I got your text. I'm alive, see."

"Can I come in?" Erik asked. His tone sounded serious and he looked her over as if checking to see if she was hurt.

"Sure, of course. Sorry." Jane stammered. She moved out of the doorframe so he could enter the apartment. Erik took off his coat and hung it on her overloaded coat rack.

"Um, is everything okay?" Jane asked. She tried to remember how to be human. "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee?"

"Coffee would be nice." Erik nodded.

Jane smiled and went to the kitchen. It was not unused. Loki's attention to detail was impressive. Jane almost laughed imagining him doing dishes as her illusion. While Thor had always been helpful and cleaned up while visiting, it was impossible to think of Loki in his Asgard garb resisting the use of magic in the face of dirty dishes.

Loki wasn't sharing his thoughts with her and Jane turned to find him observing Erik from a dark corner by her television. He looked concerned, so Jane turned to Erik. He was sniffing around Jane's apartment, as if searching for something specific. She pushed the journal deeper into her back pocket and opened her cabinet with the coffee. She filled the coffeemaker and pressed the BREW button.

"So, what's really going on?" Jane asked Erik, walking back to the living area.

"Director Hill's worried about you." He said. He was using his paternal voice now.

"Why?" Jane asked. She immediately thought to Loki, "What did you do?"

"Nothing extravagant," He thought back. "Promise."

"You've been avoiding her calls since getting back from Asgard." Erik said.

"Thor and I broke up. Why should I have to field calls from Hill?" Jane said.

"What? You didn't tell me." Erik said.

"Yeah, I just...thought it would be obvious since I came back." Jane said. She realized she needed to act more upset. "It just wasn't what I expected, being there with him."

"What changed?" Erik asked. "You were so happy with him before. I really thought..." Erik trailed off.

"Yes, Jane, what changed? I'm dying to know." Loki thought grinning from the corner.

"Thor's in love with Sif." Jane said plainly. "You saw when they came here for Ian's party."

"Jane, why would you go to Asgard then?" Erik asked, moving to the kitchen to tend to the bubbling coffeemaker.

"I...didn't want to believe it." Jane said.

"Liar," Loki thought. He had seen in her mind by now what her true intentions had been in moving to Asgard. She had gone to collect information and technology to bring back to Midgard and share with Tony and that mongrel Banner. The way she idolized Banner in her head made Loki hate the beast even more. Still, he admired the way Jane had used Thor. By sending Tony the space-time travel equations and sketches while he was Jane's illusion, Loki at least had lived out some of her true goals for her. Plus it enabled him to know Tony in a different way, which had been a lot of fun. He quite enjoyed Tony, as it turned out.

"Hm," Erik said back to Jane from the kitchen.

"Is that really why Hill's concerned?" Jane asked. Something was going on here. Erik was acting weirdly distant. She wondered again what Loki had been doing as her illusion for the last two months, but he gave her no indication now.

Erik prepared their coffees, frowning at the spoiled milk in the fridge and just serving them with a little sugar. He walked over to Jane, who had sat down on the couch, and placed a mug in front of her.

"No," Erik said. "She wants you to come in."

Jane could practically feel Loki leaning over her shoulder in curiosity even though she could see him seven feet in front of her.

"What's been happening?" Jane asked Erik.

"It's all need-to-know. I can't brief you until you come in." Erik said and looked out the window.

"You've been there too long." Jane smiled teasingly.

"Maybe so," he laughed lightly.

"Okay, but is it world threatening or just a project?" Jane asked. "Because there's some stuff going on in Asgard they need me back for."

"Jane, you can't go back there." Erik said.

"Says who?"

"Hill won't allow it. The lines to space are closed." Erik was serious. "There's been... you just can't leave."

"Erik, if you can't tell me what's going on, then I have no reason to stay. But Asgard does have a reason for me to go. Thor is dying and they think I can help."

"Were you even going to say goodbye?" Erik said.

"I'm coming back." Jane said. She wasn't sure that was true though.

She put down her mug, having drank none of it, and stood, walking towards the balcony.

"Jane, I can't let you go." Erik said. "I'm under orders to bring you in to headquarters. Our flight leaves in an hour."

"Well, you can't detain me. If Hill really wanted to bring me in, she would have sent someone stronger than you." Jane said. She opened the balcony door and walked outside, Loki following directly behind her. She looked to the sky and called out, "Heimdall, I'm ready."

"Jane, wait," Erik said, following her outside. He approached her slowly, putting his hands on her shoulders. Jane knew Heimdall must be watching because he did not send the Bifröst down.

"You don't need to save him you know. What more can you do for Thor that Asgard cannot?" Erik said.

"Erik," she began. She looked away from him and saw Loki had moved to the railing to look out over London. Her eyes stayed on Loki as she said, "I wish you were right. I wish that I couldn't help him. But it seems my fate lies beyond the stars."

Loki looked over at these words and held her gaze. She had cleared her mind and he could not tell if she was talking about him.

"Just be safe, Jane." Erik said. "Our world is darker when you're not here."

Jane looked back to Erik and smiled, "I will be safe. My time away changed how I approach danger."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Jane." Erik said. "You're not immortal."

"Neither is Thor." Jane said flatly.

Erik let out a sigh and gave Jane a long hug.

"I'll try to send word from Asgard." Jane said. "I nearly finished an idea for the communications portal before I left last time."

"Intergalactic email?" Erik mused.

"Inter-realm," Jane corrected him.

Loki smiled at this and then cleared his throat. It was time to go.

"Okay," Jane said. She was really speaking to both men at that point. Loki conjured on a pair of gloves so he would not turn her Jötunn during the journey and Jane moved away from Erik a safe distance.

"Goodbye, Erik." Jane said. She looked towards the sky again and said, "Heimdall, now I'm ready."

Loki wrapped his arms around her tightly and she felt the now familiar tug of dark energy swarming around them as Heimdall sent the Bifröst down. As their bodies raced through space-time, Jane focused on Erik in order to keep her mind clean.

The trip seemed to take longer than she remembered, but she put it down to her nerves. Finally her feet made contact with the Observatory floor and she yelled out quite clearly for Heimdall, "Loki is with me!"

"Traitor!" Loki cried out to Jane as Heimdall's arm seized his body. Heimdall placed a muzzle over Loki's mouth to bind his magic and Jane felt the removal of his mind from hers as it happened. She moved away from them out of Loki's reach, rubbing her head to ease the pain. When the pain subsided, she conjured a pair of Æsir handcuffs and tossed them to Heimdall who effortlessly put them around Loki's wrists.

"Where is Thor?" Jane asked Heimdall.

"In the king's chambers." Heimdall said. When he emphasized the word 'king', Loki's eyes narrowed.

Jane gave Heimdall a nod and fixed a cool stare on Loki's angry eyes.

"First things first, Loki," she said to him. "We are not friends. At no point should you ever think I remotely care for you."

"What shall I do with him?" Heimdall asked Jane.

"You cannot kill him, unfortunately." Jane said to Heimdall. She looked Loki in the eyes again and added, "Our fates are linked for now."

Loki stared back at her with hollow eyes and she turned to the Rainbow Bridge and began to run towards Asgard.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Songs for this chapter:_** **_"Implosions" by Agent Fresco; "_** ** _Run Boy Run" by Woodkid_**

* * *

"Sif, there is a fresh hunt in from the valley. Come and eat something." Fandral said, quietly entering the king's chambers escorted by one of Thor's remaining healthy guards.

"I am not hungry." Sif said.

"Sif, you are pale. You must eat." Fandral said. His voice was harder this time.

"Are you my king, Fandral?" Sif yelled at him.

"No, my lady." Fandral said quietly. This behavior had become commonplace for Sif since Thor fell ill. His tone softened as he added, "I only worry for our king, of course. He needs you at your full strength."

"Our king needs me by his side." Sif said coolly. "You may go, Fandral."

Fandral closed his eyes, sighing as he left the room. Volstagg waited for him outside in the main hall of the Kings Quarters. Sif only permitted one person inside at a time.

"Any luck?" Volstagg asked.

Fandral shook his head. He looked at the guard who escorted him and said, "See that Lady Sif is brought something to eat."

The guard nodded at him and Fandral took Volstagg by the elbow, pulling him swiftly away from the ears of the guards.

Once they were a safe distance away Fandral spoke, "She is worse than before. I fear her sanity is slipping away in her grief."

"What can we do? Force her away from him?" Volstagg asked.

"I am beginning to feel that may be the only option. She will not leave him of her own accord." Fandral said.

"There is no where to put her though." Volstagg said. "She will return to him if unrestrained and all the extra prison cells are full with those in quarantine."

Fandral sighed.

"The problem will likely work itself out." He said quietly after a long moment. "No one who has contact with the ill remains uninfected for long."

"Did she show any signs?" Volstagg inquired.

"None that I saw."

One of Heimdall's guards approached them in a full run. All of Heimdall's guards were linked to his mind so they could relay his observations and requests throughout the palace with immediacy. It was the most difficult position to secure in Asgard.

The guard, who showed signs of the illness in his skin, said through his panting, "My lords, Heimdall needs your assistance at the Observatory."

"What has happened?" Volstagg asked.

"Jane has returned. She did not come alone." The guard said, out of breath. "You will require the magic neutralization chains."

"Why?" Fandral asked. "Who is with her?"

"Loki."

Fandral and Volstagg shared a shocked look.

"Do not tell anyone this news." Fandral said to the guard in a low voice. He looked around before adding even more quietly, "Especially not Lady Sif."

The guard nodded and said, "Heimdall urges you to hurry."

As Fandral and Volstagg made haste from the King's Quarters, Abigæl slipped silently from the dark corner she was hiding in and made her way to the king's chamber. The guards permitted her without question or accompaniment. She had been spying on Fandral for weeks and they all understood.

"Lady Sif," Abigæl said as she entered the king's bedroom chamber. "There is news to report. Heimdall has sent for Fandral and Volstagg. My lady, Jane Foster has returned to Asgard and she brought Loki with her."

Sif spun to face Abigæl.

"Loki is imprisoned here already." Sif said.

"I fear that may have been another trick, my lady." Abigæl said. "They both seemed convinced it was him."

"What is their plan?" Sif asked.

"They will imprison him immediately, my lady. They are bringing the magic neutralization chains with them."

"And what of Jane?"

"They did not say."

"She will come here." Sif said quietly, almost to herself. She stood and looked down at Thor. Her expression hardened. "I will be ready for her."

~.~.~

Midway down the Rainbow Bridge, Jane crossed paths with Fandral and Volstagg who were on horseback.

"Take Glenr, my lady." Fandral said, motioning to her saddled horse that raced behind them.

"Thanks!" Jane said. She slowed her run and climbed easily onto the back of her white steed. She noticed neither Fandral nor Volstagg looked like the dying people in her vision, so that was a relief.

"Things are very different here now." Volstagg said to her. "You are unsafe here."

"Yes, I know about the sickness." Jane said. She didn't explain how she knew and they didn't appear confused by this. _They must assume Heimdall told me._ She thought.

"Heed caution, Jane." Fandral said. He rode his horse closer to hers and added in a low, serious tone, "Sif is not herself. She is mentally unwell. Her behavior is unpredictable and unstable."

Jane nodded. She was not worried about Sif. She knew that she was more powerful than her now that she had magic.

"You can't kill Loki. Our fates are linked." Jane told them.

Fandral and Volstagg gave her a nod of understanding and then gave a yell to their horses to run and continued on their way to the Observatory.

Jane clicked her tongue at her horse. Glenr took off in a full gallop towards Asgard and her Jötunn agility made the ride easy. As she neared the palace gates, she realized she was still in Human clothing. She quickly conjured the atoms of her fabric and rearranged them into Æsir appropriate dress, relocating her journal and the vial of orka from Nál to concealed pockets within the garb. She looked down to briefly inspect her work and groaned. Her dress was a deep grey with several accents of bright green. She rolled her eyes and kept riding.

Inside the palace an eerie quiet filled the length of its central Iðavöllr Hall. Glenr's hooves echoed loudly on the limestone floor. No one was around to stop her entry as she turned Glenr down the hall that led to the King's Quarters. Finally, only several doors from the king's bedroom itself did someone bring her horse to a halt. Jane saw it was Sif.

Jane dismounted and greeted her. "How is he?" she asked.

"Unwell," Sif said. She looked pale and it was clear she had been crying throughout the last several days.

"May I see him?" Jane asked, starting to walk forward before Sif replied.

Sif pushed her sword blade to Jane's throat and asked, "Where were you?"

"Midgard," Jane replied, hoping Sif's sword would not draw blood. She worried about her self control still and she didn't want to hurt Sif. "I came as soon as I could. Please, Sif, I just want to see him."

"This began right after you left." Sif hissed. "How do I not know that you do not bring more folly from your mortal lands?"

"Sif," Jane looked at her with begging eyes.

"Take her to the prisons." Sif commanded.

"Sif, please!" Jane cried.

She had a choice to make now. She could reveal her magic and see Thor or go to the dungeons with her secret still intact. Fandral and Volstagg were glad to see her, so perhaps it was only Sif's emotions causing this reaction to her return. Fandral did warn her about Sif's erratic behavior. _Fandral will release me from prison, right?_ She thought. She wasn't certain. But she knew she had to see Thor for herself if she had any chance of knowing how to save him and avoid her fate of ruling Asgard. She created an illusion to match her exact appearance in that moment and then transported herself into the king's bedroom.

Thor lay helpless on the bed, his skin sallow and grey. Even though she had foreseen this, she'd never imagined him truly sick and the image was haunting. She hurried to his side and reached to hold his hand. She realized he looked grey because his veins were black.

"Thor," she said softly. "It's me. It's Jane."

His eyes fluttered slightly and he said in a hoarse whisper, "You should not have come."

"I had to come." Jane said. "I am going to save you, Thor. All of you."

Thor opened his eyes, their blue color cloudy and the whites speckled with black veins.

"How?" he asked.

"She's inside the chamber!" Sif's voice called from the hall.

"I'm going to find a cure." Jane said. She smiled at Thor. "I will find it or create it. I'm not going to let you die. It's not an option."

"What has happened to you, Jane?" Thor asked. "Why do you wear that color green?"

"Seize her! She uses magic!" Sif cried as she burst into the room with all Thor's remaining guards.

"Jane?" Thor's eyes questioned her. "What have you done?"

The guards took Jane into magic neutralization chains and pulled her from Thor's side.

"I will save you, Thor." She said to his surprised face. "I promise."

~.~.~

"So this was your brilliant plan?" Loki said from his corner cell as the guards and Sif marched Jane past it. "Bravo, Jane."

Jane didn't look at him. They led her to the cell next to his, but it was full of Æsir with the same grey skin that plagued Thor. A prison guard approached them and addressed Sif.

"My lady, all the cells are occupied by the sick. This woman looks well." He said.

"Put her in with Loki then." Sif said. Her eyes flickered darkly to Jane's before she added, "They can flyte day and night using their treacherous magic."

"Oh, great, she knows." They could all hear Loki say with a groan from his cell.

The guards pulled Jane back to the front of Loki's cell and one turned off the Æsir magic that held the walls intact. The others stood guard over Loki as Sif undid Jane's chains and shoved her inside. She could feel the difference in Jane's body density. She realized Jane was no longer human. _Was this always their plan?_ She wondered. _To turn Jane_ _Æ_ _sir for Fandral, or...?_ Sif could not even finish the thought it was so distasteful. Jane might be a talented liar, but surely even she would not take interest in Loki.

The Æsir magic went back into effect sealing the cell and Sif sneered at the pair of them, pushing her new concerns away long enough to say with confidence, "When this is over, you will both rot in here forgotten while Thor rules Asgard."

"Look around, Sif," Loki said. "This is more a quarantine ward than a dungeon. Who will be left for Thor to rule?"

"Thor is dying." Jane said softly to Sif. "Please, let me help."

"A Midgardian wench has no means to help a god." Sif said and turned on her heel.

"Ouch," Loki said sucking in air as they watched Sif leave them. "What is it they say on Midgard? Oh yes! She told you, Jane."

Jane sucker punched Loki and he flew across the cell, the Æsir glass shimmering gold as he slammed into it. Jane conjured a wall between them, pleased to find that she could still do magic within the cell itself. She sat in the far corner of the cell wishing she were in Jötunn form so she wouldn't have to cry. Loki's impish laughter peeled through her illusion wall, but he stayed on the other side of it giving her privacy.

~.~.~

After Sif locked Jane in Loki's cell, she did not immediately leave the prisons. Instead she decided to pay Lorelei a visit. She wanted answers.

"Leave me." Sif commanded the guards. She could not have Lorelei's sorceress power over men risk her own safety.

Once she was alone in the isolation chamber, Sif undid the cell's magic and entered it. Lorelei blinked a few times, adjusting to the light that came on with a visitor's presence. Sif removed the silencer from her mouth and stepped back outside the cell, quickly resealing it.

Lorelei coughed and cleared her throat. It had been months since she had use of her voice. Finally she smiled at Sif and said, "You look wretched, Lady Sif. Did Thor finally marry that mortal?"

"I have come to speak about your involvement with Loki." Sif said, ignoring Lorelei's words completely.

Lorelei frowned and finally said, "I really do not see why. That was ages ago. Centuries. Before Amora was banished. Before you and Thor were even together."

"I do not mean your sexual involvement. I mean your recent act as his accomplice to regicide." Sif said.

"Regicide, really? Sounds fascinating, especially since Loki died last year." Lorelei's eyes flashed. "But I have not a clue of what you speak."

"We shall try this a different way." Sif said. Her voice was calm, unnerved, but inside her fury was beginning to climb to the surface. "Can you do a concealment spell?"

"Yes, of course. That's basic magic."

"Could you conceal a person?" Sif asked.

"Depends," Lorelei said. "Is this person Odin?"

Sif said nothing.

"I will take your silence as confirmation." Lorelei said. "The answer would be no. I could not conceal Odin unless he requested me to do so and lowered his charm shields. The King of Asgard is well protected against magic. His sons on the other hand..."

"So you admit to working with Loki then?" Sif said.

Lorelei laughed.

Sif glowered at her. "You dare mock me, Lorelei?"

Lorelei laughed harder and leaned towards the glass, "You are such a blundering fool that you are hardly even worth my mockery, Lady Sif."

"You will give me answers!" Sif screamed at her.

Lorelei pursed her full lips into a smirk and said nothing. Sif seethed, her breathing coming out in ragged bursts of rage. She decided to leave before she lost further control of the situation. Fixing a threatening stare on Lorelei she said, "You will admit to your manifold of crimes, even if I have to force you to do so."

Sif turned around sharply and left the isolation cell, the lights extinguishing once she was gone.

* * *

Hours later, after the sun went down and the dungeons were in the darkness of the moonlight, Loki passed through the illusion wall. He had already forgiven her for betraying him to Heimdall, though he was undecided whether or not to express his sentiment to Jane. He did not yet see the benefit in doing so, plus he felt a bit awestruck at her actions still. _She is limitless._ He reminded himself as he sat next to Jane.

"Is Thor really dying?" he asked her almost inaudibly.

Jane nodded. Her hours spent here so far proved to her that there was no sound privacy in the dungeons.

"You've been crying." Loki said.

Jane looked away. She had cried since Sif left them. It felt hopeless. Not only would Thor die likely within days, she had no means to help him from here. Not to mention Sif appeared to be seeking vengeance on her finally. On top of that, she was locked up with a psychopath whom she'd betrayed earlier that day. He would likely try to murder her tonight so none of this would matter anyway. She'd be just another name in his book of bloodshed.

"You should not be so concerned." Loki said. "I do not mean to rule a vacant Asgard. We will stop this plague, Jane."

She looked at him and asked, "How?"

"Two geniuses who can do magic locked up together in a glass house for five thousand years give or take?" he smiled. "We will think of something."

"You would kill in my sleep." Jane said.

Loki smiled and cupped Jane's chin with his hand. He let their eyes glow red a moment before he said, "Our fates are linked, Jane. I would no sooner kill myself."

Jane took Loki's hand and removed it from her chin.

"I wish you hadn't damaged so many people I love." She said.

Loki looked away, his eyes fading back to green.

"I wish that, too." He said into the darkness.

They sat there in silence until eventually falling asleep some time later.

~.~.~

When Jane awoke, she found herself on the hard floor, slunk against the wall. A heavy arm draped over her ribs and a messy mass of sable hair was in her immediate eyesight. She closed her eyes to push her senses forward and realized this was an illusion. She sat up, dissolving the sleeping illusion of Loki, and turned to find the real Loki had put their fake wall back up. He'd created a small opening in this one and she stood to peer through it. Loki was perched by the cell glass, his legs stretched in front of him, reading a book.

"Where did you get that?" Jane asked, walking through the wall, which shimmered away at her touch.

"Good morning." Loki replied. "Sleep well?"

His smirk reached his eyes as he looked up from the book. Jane realized he looked immaculate and that she likely looked like a mess. She wondered how long it would take her to remember her magic for random things like personal hygiene. She conjured the dirt, dried sweat, and oil from her body and hair and rearranged the atoms of her dress into new clothing, focusing hard this time to avoid more green.

"Red?" Loki frowned at her new fabric choice. "How overdramatic."

"The book, Loki?" Jane asked. Her neck was stiff and she wondered what magic would help that. Really just a bed would do the trick, but who was going to give them a bed?

"Leftover from Frigga. This is my old cell." He explained. "There are more over there."

Jane followed his gaze to a stack of tattered books. But that wasn't the only thing in the cell. A plush sitting chair and matching ottoman, a goblet and platter on a small circular table, and a daybed filled the space. He had concealed them from her the day before.

"You let me sleep on the floor when you knew we had a bed?"

"It's not a very big bed." Loki said. "Besides, you're common and I am royalty. I assumed you would have given it to me anyway."

Jane opened her mouth to respond but remembered the lack of sound barriers and thought better of it. If Loki wanted to punish her for turning him in, so be it. She strode to the books and began to examine the titles.

"Only two will be of use." Loki said over his shoulder. "Reading one of them now. You should start on the other— _Darkness of the Realms_ it's entitled."

Jane found it separated from the stack and took it with her to the sitting chair.

"What is yours about?" she asked.

"It's written in Vanir. It's their account of history. They had a plague once, though it was disguised as a war with the Jötnar so Asgard would not think them weak and invade."

"You can read Vanir?" Jane asked. "Their alphabet is impossible for me."

"Frigga was Vanir. She taught me her mother tongue." He said. "But like I told you before as Odin, Vanir is the hardest language of the realms to learn. Most Æsir give up. You speak it beautifully, for what it's worth."

"Not much right now it seems, but thanks." Jane muttered. "So have you found anything yet?"

"I have," Loki frowned. "But it's not the same symptoms we're seeing here. If you can't find anything in that one, we'll have to visit the library."

Jane looked at him confused. "What? Are they giving library passes to prisoners now?"

Loki laughed.

"Jane, that's adorable." He said and then pointed to his temple, "No, we'll have to go through here."

"How do we take the books though? We won't physically be there."

"I like to call it a Loki Transcode since I invented it." He said. "You store the molecular components of the book in your mind and then transfer them into the physical books we have already here. The bigger the borrow, the bigger book we need as a base."

"That's...amazing!" Jane exclaimed.

"I know." Loki smiled.

"But, wait, how do we get there at all? The cells stop any form of magic from leaving their walls, right? How would we exit the cell?" Jane asked, seeing the flaw in the plan.

Loki put a finger over his lips as they pursed into a smirk. He then said out loud, "Yes, all the cells prevent any form of magic from leaving them. It is the securest prison in all the Nine Realms."

Jane pushed her mind into his and thought, "So how do we do it?"

"Hang on," Loki thought back. "Putting up a screen so people don't notice we stopped talking."

He flicked his wrist and an illusion of Jane and Loki standing in a replication of their cell filled the space by the glass. They were having a fairly civilized conversation about prisons throughout the galaxies. Illusion Jane was pointing out the humanitarian flaws of the Kyln, the infamous prison located in the Andromeda galaxy, and illusion Loki was countering with recognition of its communal aspects, which were notably lacking within the Æsir prison. Both points of view were originating from the real Loki's brain of course and the real Jane found herself drawn into the discussion based on both its content and the absurdity of it. She wondered if Loki used to have debates in here between himself and an illusion of someone else to combat loneliness.

"Frigga oversaw the final redesign of this particular cell when I was initially sentenced to life in prison." Loki thought to Jane in their real forms while he continued to run the illusion. "There is an opening here by my head. It's too small for the ungifted eye to see, but large enough to permit me—us—to project an illusion within a limited field. The field essentially extends to the library, but she could not control the radius, so it's that distance in all directions."

"So you could project an illusion to her while you were in here?" Jane thought.

"Technically yes, if she was close enough, but magic is permitted inward to the cells from anywhere, so she always projected to me." Loki thought back.

A memory of Loki's began to form in his mind. In it Jane could hear his voice saying ruefully, 'You're not,' but she could not see who he was speaking to. He cut off the memory abruptly and Jane could feel his emotions becoming overwhelmed with grief.

"So, where exactly is the opening?" she thought quickly to distract him.

"Close your eyes and focus on the Æsir magic's energy field along the cell glass next to me." Loki thought and Jane closed her eyes.

She felt his emotional relief at her interruption even though it was subtle, almost subconscious. Jane realized she was beginning to be able to read more of who Loki was than just what was revealed in his most forthcoming thoughts. She had to assume he already developed this skillset and therefore know quite a bit about her, perhaps even some things that she did not even acknowledge about herself.

His words about how he and Frigga had been unable to keep secrets from each other ran through her mind and she wondered if he knew that she had the gift of Mimir. She purposefully had been keeping it from him even before she figured out exactly what it was. He would have had to dig deep, and she didn't think that she had made her mind vulnerable to him long enough for that to occur.

"Do you see the gap?" Loki thought after a moment.

Jane realized she should focus and with her eyes still closed she observed the space on the glass near his head. There was a miniscule blank spot in the shimmering gold of the force field just next to his eye in her line of sight. It looked black from this vantage, but she knew it was merely see-through.

"Yes," she thought. "It's very small."

"Exactly," Loki thought. "So, there you have it. The passageway to the library. See Jane, you can get everything you want in one place...a library, a privacy screen, a bed, and me."

Loki's thoughts became exaggeratedly sexual and Jane pulled herself from his mind with an eyeroll. As he held his head in the pain of her removal he let out a long, maniacal laugh.

"And I hate you." Jane said simply, rubbing her eyes to ease the pain of the mindlink.

Loki dropped the illusion screen and continued to laugh while Jane tried to push his forced thoughts of kissing her against the stacks in one of the darker spots of the library out of her head. Most of his thoughts had not been of just kissing her, but that was the particular part she could not shake. The way he imagined how her lips would feel under his touch lingered in her mind. All his crass thoughts had been tainted with false emotion except for this particular one, as if he'd not been able to mask his unbridled excitement because it was too raw.

She stole a glance at him as she tried to remind herself of all the terrible things he had done. He had stopped laughing by now and was not looking at her, perhaps on purpose, and she found herself getting more excited than less as she took in his features. She quickly looked down at _Darkness of the Realms_ and opened it to the table of contents.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M rating for darker themes

**_Songs for this chapter: "BTSK" by MS MR; "Brake End Title" by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

Jane and Loki settled into a comfortable silence while they read. Every so often Jane would see Loki's book shimmer green and gold in her peripheral as he transcoded it and he would quickly turn the pages to the part he was looking to read.

Finally Jane exhausted her intensive skimming of _Darkness of the Realms_ and snapped the cover shut.

"Nothing?" Loki asked not looking up from his current transcoded book.

"Dark Elves, aether, the Battle of Bor told in three glorious ways." Jane riddled off. "Nothing but nightmares for me, thanks."

Loki scrunched up his nose and muttered, "My fault."

"Okay, I need to go to the library."

"Shall we go together Jane?" Loki said as he started to push himself inside her mind.

"Other way" Jane said and pushed back. Once she was back in the interiors of his brain, he thought a wink at her and transported them mentally to the Reference Section of the Æsir library.

No one was in library.

"Okay, show me how your transcode works." Jane thought to Loki.

"You know the indexing system, so find the title you need..." Loki flicked his wrist to turn the planetoid orb that was the index for Jötunheim's realm and stopped at the Jötunn word for death, which translated to common tongue as 'fire,' and they skimmed the titles.

" _Black Fire_!" they both exclaimed at once.

Jane smiled for a moment. Even in her university days of her third PhD, she'd never met someone as nerdy as Loki. _Maybe Tony Stark_ , she mused. _Tony is a little more geek than nerd though_ , Jane decided. Otherwise he and Loki weren't so different. Except that Loki was a mass murdering Jötunn. Jane reflected that Tony used to work in defense, living a life of debauchery and philandering funded by the financial gain his sales of deadly weapons brought in. In some ways Tony had killed more people than Loki, yet she trusted and respected Tony. _Maybe people actually can change._ She thought.

Her thought train was interrupted with an intense memory of Loki's that took place on Jötunheim. It was too overpowering for him to stop it from emerging. She could feel his fear as the smell of blood and the sound of war raged around them. Nál's voice was distinguishable in her shrieks of terror. "Not my son! Not my son!" she cried first in Jötunn then in Æsir. Jane felt Loki's emotion turn from fear to panic as his body was taken from Nál's grasp by a pair of searing hot hands. Odin's war torn face filled his vantage point.

"Monster!" Loki spat coming away from his memory. "Sorry Jane. Sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay." Jane thought softly, realizing the story Thor had told her about Odin saving Loki from certain death on Jötunheim wasn't true at all. Odin had taken Loki directly from Nál's arms. He had stolen him and victimized him to justify such a selfish and horrific deed to himself and to Frigga. Jane felt enraged. Nál was one of her tribe, one of her own kind. This type of assault simply was not allowed.

"Okay, here's the book." Loki pulled the small volume from the shelf. His emotion surrounding the memory was already gone. He had learned to compartmentalize it years ago. "Flip through it once and do your best to 'see' the contents. This part takes the most practice." He continued, demonstrating how to quickly flip through the book before handing it to Jane.

Jane forced herself to compartmentalize her own anger and focus on the moment at hand. She flipped through the volume, but had no ability to memorize any text while doing so.

"Now pretend you're going to conjure it, memorize the form." Loki thought.

Jane did so and thought, "Okay" when she was done. Loki pulled their illusions back into the cell and Jane separated her mind from his. They both rubbed out the pain in their heads for a moment. Doing this type of projection hurt more than a normal mindlink and Jane felt sapped of energy.

"Now transcode it onto that book." Loki said. "The information will be in the long-term mnemonic part of your brain that you don't access consciously for recall."

Jane tried. His instructions were somewhat lacking, but she would have to practice in order to learn, just like all the other magic he'd taught her. She felt finished as the book shimmered green and gold and quickly went to check her work. The pages were a blur of text, as if it captured only the visual of what she saw flipping through.

"Any luck?" Loki asked. He knew the answer based on her disappointed look.

"No, it's a blur. What exactly am I supposed to be doing?" Jane sighed. "Your vague instructions suck."

"Don't be rude. It's not my fault you can't do it." Loki said. He was still rubbing his temples.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked.

"Are you still in my head?" he asked.

"No, I unlinked once we got back."

"You've been keeping secrets from me, Jane." Loki said. His head snapped up and his eyes locked onto hers before he added, "Haven't you?"

Jane immediately blocked her mind in anticipation on Loki's attempts at penetration. It hurt to do and she already felt so exhausted.

"I'm not hiding anything from you." She said. "How the hell could I even do that?"

"Stop blocking me then!" he yelled.

"I don't want you in my head again." She replied. "Why is that a big deal?"

"You're lying to me." Loki was still yelling. "Lie! Lies! Lies!"

Each time he said the word he multiplied his form. Four Lokis began to advance on Jane in her sitting chair. It was a trap. If she worked to tell mentally which one was real, she would have to unblock her mind. She threw the book she was holding at one of them and it zoomed through the illusion causing it to vanish.

 _Two to go._ Jane thought.

The easiest way, besides throwing things, would be to touch the skin of each of them. Only one could turn Jötunn. But then she would turn Jötunn and she did not think they were screening the cell at that moment. She couldn't risk the rest of the prison seeing her change form.

"Are we really doing this?" Jane asked as she stood up. "I know you're tired, too."

The Lokis kept advancing and she multiplied forms back, making extra duplications to outnumber Loki two to one. He responded with further duplications of himself. All the Janes rolled their eyes and she doubled his number. He responded in kind and this went on until the cell was filled to capacity with laughing duplications.

"Your plan won't work." The Lokis all said.

"I don't even have a plan!" the Janes shot back. "Agent of chaos over here."

"That's my line." The Lokis said.

"You need a new one. You don't even like chaos! Agent of Control Freak is more like it."

"You amuse yourself, sweet Jane, but you will not be so amused when I slit your throat this night."

"You will find it difficult to do so having lost your head already." Jane said. She had no clue what they were doing, but she was having fun slinging insults at him.

"But what use is a head for you? You prefer what's below the waist—or so you screamed with Thor." The Lokis countered.

"Have my screams piqued your thoughts so much you beg I take your sword?" The Janes said with raised eyebrows. "I will only take your sword when you pledge your fealty to me."

"So this is what Jane desires? You mean to steal my glorious purpose as your own? You wish to see me bow to you?"

"You do so love to kneel, Loki." The Janes smirked at him. "That is what Skaði whispers into the frozen night now that you've abandoned her."

Loki dropped his forms and stared at her. Jane dropped her forms and raised her eyebrows at him as if to say, "Bring it."

A stray applause caused them both to jump and look at the glass wall. Fandral stood there giving an ovation.

"Sif said you were flyting, but that was beyond my expectations." He said. "Well won, Jane. With the Skaði reference—oh my, that is quite an old classic to win on against Loki. I'm impressed."

Jane knew it was her reference to Loki's abandonment rather than to Skaði that caused Loki to cede. She said nothing and looked at Fandral. _Perhaps he's come to free me._ She thought hopefully.

"What do you want, Fandral?" Loki growled. "We are busy trying to find a cure to this black death."

Jane looked at Loki and asked, "Did you transcode it?"

He gave her a look that said 'yes' before adding, "Nothing much of use. No one gives a damn about Jötunheim here."

Jane crossed her arms, reinforced her mind block, and turned back to Fandral.

"Jane, you have a visitor." Fandral said. "From Midgard."

"Oh god, not Erik?" Jane asked.

"By the Norns, is Heimdall to admit every mortal who calls on Jane?" Loki groaned.

"He, um, came on his own." Fandral said, shifting his weight uncomfortably before lowering his voice to say, "And, my lady, he keeps talking to himself, calling himself Jarvis."

Loki sunk into the daybed, letting out a long groan.

"You tell him I still want that drink!" Loki called from the bed.

"I don't give alcohol to dead guys. Waste of scotch." Tony Stark said, emerging in the company of a grey-skinned Æsir guard. He looked at Fandral and added, "Wasn't he dead?"

"Tony?" Jane said, surprised he was there.

"Like the new digs, Foster." Tony smiled at her. "Though I thought you were shacking up with Thor not his alien brother? But, hey, no judgment from me—sometimes you get tired of the facial hair. I get it."

Jane rolled her eyes and then pulled focus.

"Thor's dying." She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Hill sent me after you circumvented Selvig. Defying authority for space? I must be rubbing off on you." He explained with a grin. "What are you doing in prison, Foster?"

"Thor's on-again, off-again One True Love is holding a grudge against her." Loki offered. "That's the prison gossip, anyway."

"Wait, when were they together?" Jane asked.

"A couple hundred years ago." Fandral replied. "They've been betrothed since childhood."

"Exes can be rough." Tony nodded. "Pepper turned this guy down once and then he decided to seek his revenge by forcefeeding her some deadly thermal virus to make her his trophy. Literal trophy, not figurative. Talk about an awkward time in the relationship for us! Anyway, the Pepper-Hill version of S.H.I.E.L.D. is desperate. It's a shitstorm on Earth at the moment, and I don't mean metaphorically. The rain is black."

"What?" Jane said, remembering that the rain had looked darker than usual to her. "How long has it been going on?"

"Three days." Tony said.

"Have they tested it yet?" Loki asked. He was now standing next to Jane intrigued by the new topic.

"Has anyone been infected?" Jane asked.

"The tests aren't working—it's extra-terrestrial so we have nothing to test it with, really. And, yes, people are infected."

"What are the symptoms?" Loki asked.

"Look around, wise guy. Same here as it is there."

"It must be in the sea." Jane said. "The Ægir of Asgard forms an under-atmosphere that then seeps down as radiation to Earth. Mostly harmless, like solar flares, but this is not radiation we're talking about if the rain is black."

"You guys really need an environmental cleanup program!" Tony said and looked between Fandral and the guard.

"Jane," Loki began. "Can I come in?"

"No, I will." she said and pushed her mind back into his instead of allowing him entry to hers.

"What the hell is happening to them?" Tony demanded. Jane and Loki's expressions both had gone blank like robots in stasis.

"They're harnessing a mindlink. Jane is a passenger inside Loki's brain." Fandral explained. Even though it was not something most people could do, he was used to it from being around Loki and Frigga.

"Inside crazy pants' brain?"

"Safer that way," Fandral explained. "She controls what she shares, while he cannot."

Tony nodded, processing this information.

"I like your moustache by the way...what was it, Fandral?" Tony said.

"Yes, Fandral." He smiled. "Thank you. I find the women prefer it."

"Me too," Tony said, rubbing his own facial hair. "How long are they gonna be under?"

Fandral shrugged.

"I've never seen them do it. Jane came back from Midgard with new powers. She discovered Loki was alive, and it seems he took her that night. We don't really know. A lot has been happening."

"When was that?"

"Two months ago, give or take."

"Two months?" Tony cried. "She's been off the grid mind melding with that problem child for two months?!"

"We are remiss on the details, I'm afraid." Fandral sighed heavily. "They just returned yesterday."

Jane and Loki came back then, each holding their heads in pain. Jane looked at Fandral and said, "We need to go to Jötunheim."

"Timeout, Jane." Tony said, making a 'T' sign with his hands. "Did you email me all the specs for the Mini-Bifröst?"

"The what?" Jane asked.

Everyone looked at Loki.

"I thought it was a cute name!" he protested. "Very Jane."

"Not the point," Jane said.

"It's kind of banal, actually." Tony said, weighing the name afresh in his mind.

"Don't even say it." Jane said quickly to Loki. He gave her a little smirk, but kept his mouth shut. "What else were you doing as me down there? I thought you'd just have me hanging around my apartment alone doing nothing."

"When are you ever idle?" Loki said. "Besides, there was this guy...Richard."

"Richard? I hung out with him one time!"

"Well, he was certainly persistent. He called almost every day."

"So?" Jane said. "I was with someone!"

"That was unclear. So, I just explained you were a whore and he laughed." Loki said.

Jane swung a punch at him and he ducked. This was their planned signal for Loki to start projecting a screen of them as illusions so they could actualize their real plan without revealing that Jane was Jötunn.

In the illusion the frivolous Richard argument continued and illusion Loki kept on pulling out outlandish tales of what he did as Jane on Midgard.

Meanwhile the real Jane, hidden from Fandral and Tony by the screen, pulled the vial of orka she'd gotten in Jötunheim from her pocket and drank a sip. The real Loki took her hand in his and they shifted into Jötunn form.

"Remember what I told you." Loki said.

Jane nodded, closed her eyes, and touched her forehead markings to initiate the telepathy. Her mind swirled a moment as a rush of stony voices entered it. Her tribe. Finally Nál's voice emerged from the crowd to address her.

"What do you seek, child?" Nál asked.

"An answer." Jane replied in thought.

"Ask." Nál commanded.

"The black fire—is there a cure?"

"The black fire cannot affect Jötnar." Nál said quickly.

Jane saw Nál was avoiding her question due to the lack of privacy and realized she would have to go in person to get the answers she needed. This was what she and Loki expected to happen, but were hoping to avoid.

"May I come visit your libraries, Nál?"

"Of course, Jötnar are always encouraged to increase their learning."

"May I bring a couple of friends? They are not Jötnar. They are Æsir and Human."

Nál did not answer immediately. Jane gave Loki's hand a squeeze to ail her anxiety. She couldn't allow her thoughts to take over. The truth of Asgard's state of emergency had to remain a secret. She felt his thumb run over hers softly. She was certain he meant to calm her, but it was having quite the opposite effect. As her heart rate increased to an almost intolerable level, she nearly begged Nál to say something.

"Who are you with?" Nál finally said.

"Long story." Jane thought back, but she knew the image of Loki was being transmitted telepathically. It was her primary thought at the moment.

"Don't bring him." Nál said.

"He's imprisoned. He won't be going anywhere."

"Do not be so certain, Jane." Nál warned. "He is a snake."

"Interesting word choice," Jane noted.

"I see you found your gift of Mimir?" Nál smiled.

"We have a lot to talk about." Jane thought.

Nál agreed and added, "Hurry here. You may bring your friends—as long as they remain such while in Utgard."

"Thank you, they will." Jane assured Nál.

A chorus of 'goodbye' and 'see you soon' came from the rest of the tribe and Jane opened her eyes. She forced her mind blank, as Loki had instructed, and then filled it with Tony and Fandral. She played out a scene with them for a few minutes until she could no longer hear the tribe's thoughts. The link was broken.

Jane let out a deep breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and looked at Loki to signal she was done.

"Did she tell you anything?" he asked.

"No, but she permitted entrance." Jane said.

"Good enough," Loki said. "When do we leave?"

"You know you're not coming." Jane raised an eyebrow at him.

Loki smiled mischievously and released her hand. Before either of them could change form from Jötunn, he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Let me know what you learn." He said.

"I will." Jane said.

They held each other's red eyes for a moment before Loki dropped his hand. His other hand was engaged in keeping the magic running their illusions, who were now in a heated debate over whether Loki owed more of an apology to Erik or to Tony. Jane was preparing herself to enter the conversation for her illusion when Loki abruptly said, "No, wait."

She looked back at him in time to see he was leaning towards her. She was about to ask what was wrong when his lips found hers. Their frames grew back to Jötunn size as he kissed her. To her surprise, she found her hand moving to his chest, continuing upwards, and finally tangling itself in his soft, slippery hair. Before she could admonish herself enough to stop, Loki pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out. His red eyes did not look apologetic.

Jane said nothing. Her hand was still in his hair and Loki's free hand was wrapped loosely around her waist.

"I just thought you might die before I see you again." Loki added finally.

Jane was unsure what to make of this, but the sudden silence made her realize their illusions were not talking.

"The illusions, Loki!" she urged.

"Shit." He said.

Their illusions' voices filled the air again and their true selves released each other so they could return to non-Jötunn form.

Finally Jane said, "Richard didn't really call me, right? Because that would be kinda creepy."

"No," Loki laughed. "I just picked a name from your phone's address book."

"Are my eyes okay?" Jane asked.

"Brown." Loki said. "Mine?"

"Green." Jane said.

They looked at each other a little longer before Loki said, "Come back, okay?"

"It's all part of the plan." Jane said with a light laugh.

Loki gave her a moment to listen to the illusions' conversation before finding a break and dropping the screen. They stepped back in for the illusions seamlessly when he dropped the screen.

"Okay, enough of your stalling, Loki." Jane said, shooting him a glare before looking at Fandral. "We should get going if we're to reach Utgard before their nightfall."

"And why exactly are you coming?" Fandral asked her.

"I'm the only one Nál's permitted entry."

"Says who? It's forbidden." Fandral looked at Loki with some hatred before saying, "Even if the proclamation was given under guise, the Jötnar will not see it that way."

"Says Nál." Jane said impatiently. "Look, it's a long story, I'll give you that, but let me tell you it on the way. Every second we stand here debating, someone else on one of our realms gets infected."

"Not that Planet Hoth was on my vacay list this year, Fandral, but she does have a point." Tony said.

"And Loki?" Fandral asked.

"Let the guy rot." Jane said.

She could see Loki roll his eyes in her peripheral.

"You said he can't die." Fandral said.

"Rotting technically is decay over time, eventually leading to death, but not in itself death." Tony said.

"Yes, thank you, iron freak." Loki sneered. "Now can you all please go? Heimdall can hear you and his anticipation is a burden on my brain."

Fandral nodded to the guard hovering by Tony and he shut off the cell's magic long enough for Jane to exit. After the magic was back in place, the trio set off. Jane cast a glance back at Loki and he blew her a kiss while wearing a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. Tony gave her a raised eyebrow look and she just shook her head, using magic to hide her blush.

After they were out of sight, Loki slid into the chair Jane had been sitting in, breathing in her lingering scent. He felt relieved with her absence because he finally had his mind back to himself. He relaxed into his isolation, pleased to let his mind roam freely. The only place it would seem to go though was back to Jane. He frowned. Even if they had formed an alliance during their last mindlink, this sentiment was an unexpected complication.

~.~.~

Shortly after leaving the prison, the group had a run-in with Sif.

"Why is she not locked up? She's a danger to all of us." Sif demanded of Fandral.

"She is under my protection, Sif." Fandral said, his hand reaching for the helm of his sword. "Leave it alone."

Sif glared at Fandral before stating heatedly, "The blood falls to your hands then."

"There will be no blood to claim." Fandral shot back. "Now if you'll excuse us, Heimdall awaits to send us to Jötunheim for a cure."

Sif held her ground and Jane wondered how long before Sif caught the plague from Thor. It was surprising she was not already infected based on what Jane had observed since arriving back on Asgard. Jane scoured Sif's body for any signs of illness. _Is it possible Sif is just a carrier?_ Jane wondered. Fandral appeared unaffected as well, and Jane mulled over the idea that they both were carriers.

Fandral interrupted Jane's thoughts when he asked Sif in a concerned voice, "Sif, why do you carry that?"

Sif followed his gaze to her hip and saw the silencer she had taken off of Lorelei the day before hooked to her waistband. The tingling of dread seeped over her as she realized her colossal error.

"Why did you do this?" Fandral asked.

Sif just shook her head, too shocked with herself to say anything.

"Go now and see if she is yet to escape." Fandral urged.

"You know she has." Sif said.

"Sif," Fandral's tone shifted and he moved her away from Jane and Tony. "Was this your intention?"

Sif stared at him. _You are the one trying to usurp the throne, not me._ She thought.

"I just need to understand." Fandral said. "I need to understand what is happening to you."

"To me?" Sif said. "To you!"

"What?" Fandral asked as his brow furrowed.

"I would never jeopardize our king's safety." Sif said. "How dare you accuse me of such treachery!"

"What is wrong with you?" Fandral yelled. "No one accuses you of anything!"

"Go." Sif demanded. "Go to Jötunheim. But know that we will not send aid. When they capture you upon arrival, you will suffer their torture alone."

Fandral glared at her and Jane stepped between them, pushing Fandral back towards Tony.

"We understand, Sif." Jane said hastily. "Keep Thor comforted while we're gone. I will be coming back with a solution to save you all. Goodbye, Sif."

Sif stared at Jane angrily, but she did not stop them as Jane led the two men past her towards the most direct route to the Rainbow Bridge.

Once they were out of earshot, or at least mortal earshot, Tony asked, "Was that the chick I think it was?"

Jane nodded.

"She's pretty hot." Tony said. "Got a great tough girl thing going on, very Lara Croft."

"She's the best warrior Asgard has." Jane said, knowing Sif could hear them. She added, "No offense, Fandral."

"None at all," he smiled. "I quite agree with you, Jane."

"I thought Thor was your top dog?" Tony asked.

"Thor...lacks an instinct that Sif does not." Jane said, shaking her head.

"Hm," Tony said. He wondered if Jane was really comparing Thor to Sif or to another certain someone.

"I'll need my cloak." Fandral said, starting to veer towards the hall that led to his quarters.

Jane conjured a fur-lined cloak and handed it to him.

"Here," she said. "Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who can do magic is a backstabbing, selfish ego-maniac."

Fandral laughed.

"You got your suit, Tony?" Jane asked Tony. He was in jeans and a long sleeve Iron Maiden t-shirt.

"JARVIS, it's time." was Tony's response.

The metal pieces of his Iron Man suit flew towards them and assembled fluidly onto Tony's body.

"Fascinating," Fandral said watching. "Do mortals call magic 'jarvis'?"

Jane laughed.

"Just me," Tony said, flipping up the visor of his helmet.

"Will it keep you warm?" Jane asked him.

"Thermal controls were just honed for my space trip." Tony confirmed.

"We're ready then." Jane said.

Fandral called the horses with a whistle and he and Jane mounted easily.

"When did you get so badass, Foster?" Tony smirked.

"A month ago." Jane said and smiled before nudging Glenr to a gallop.

Tony flew next to their horses down the length of the Rainbow Bridge and Heimdall awaited them at the Observatory. He took in their attire to ensure everyone was dressed warmly enough, raising an eyebrow at Jane's lack of coat. She quickly conjured one and he gave a nod. Jane was uncertain if Heimdall knew she was Jötunn.

"As you are aware, traveling to Jötunheim is forbidden without express permission from Queen Nál." Heimdall said. "Do you each have this permission?"

"Yes." Jane replied.

"Good." Heimdall said. "Because I was sending you anyway, but now I can have some hope you might actually return."

"We plan to all three return, Heimdall, my friend." Fandral said. "Thank you for helping us."

"I do this for Asgard." Heimdall said as he pushed his sword into the Bifröst ignition.

"For Asgard!" Fandral cried.

His words were scattered across space as the Bifröst transported the three of them to Jötunheim in whirl of dark energy.

This trip seemed longer to Jane, like the one from Midgard had, and she wondered if it was her improved vision or her expanded mind that gave this difference in perception. Now that she knew how to move through space herself, everything just looked like atoms and dark matter waiting to be rearranged for her purposes. Infinite possibilities. There were no limits. Her thoughts shifted quickly to Loki. She was not thinking of how he'd never used the full limitlessness of his powers though; she was thinking how she wished he was there. How they could play with dark matter along the journey of the Bifröst and how much more fun things were with him around.

* * *

After allowing Fandral and Jane to leave with Jane's mortal, Sif hurried to the prisons. She reasoned it had only been a day that Lorelei could use her voice and with so many people ill, perhaps she had not managed to speak to anyone yet.

She had left Thor in Abigæl's care after she had reported the mortal man's presence on Asgard. Running made Sif realize how weak she was. Her stomach screamed with hunger pains.

Sif took the route that would avoid passing Loki's cell. She had almost fully elevated her hopes by the time she turned the corner that led to the isolation cell. A guard lunged at her from the darkness, specifically reaching for the silencer. Centuries of training took over Sif's body and she dispossessed him, put him in a hold, and deposited and sealed him inside Lorelei's empty cell in about a minute's time. She panted, trying to catch her breath as the guard slammed his body angrily into the cell's glass wall.

Sif knew he would be under Lorelei's spell until her magic was disabled or she chose to remove it. The only way to contain the threat he posed through Lorelei's mind control was to imprison or kill him.

"I am so sorry." Sif said to the guard.

Sif could hardly believe she committed such an error as to forget to replace the silencer on Lorelei. Now Lorelei had escaped and was likely halfway across the galaxy. It was entirely her fault. Her mistake. Her lack of discipline in her anger that had caused this. She could feel tears forming and left the room, hurrying out of the prisons, which were beginning to smell of death.

 _I must eat._ She told herself. Her feet moved her towards her old quarters to find Volstagg. She knew he would have food.

On the way there, she passed an open balcony at the exact moment the Bifröst opened. While she watched the surge of energy take Fandral, Jane, and the mortal away from Asgard, she felt a sliver of relief, as if she could finally exhale a long baited breath.

When she walked into her quarters, her sense of relief vanished. It was nearly silent inside. The normal noises of Volstagg's children's squeals, laughter, and cries were deafening in their absence. Sif walked directly into Volstagg's chambers, not bothering to knock. His wife, Gudrun, looked up at her from the wash basin. Her skin was grey and her eyes cloudy. She was filling a water jug.

"Lady Sif," Gudrun whispered as a greeting.

Sif nodded to her and walked into the bedroom. Volstagg was on the bed, his skin grey and his red hair faded to a dull brown. Surrounding him on the bed were his children. All of them were huddled together for warmth under the thick blankets. All but one. Sif's remaining color drained from her face as she noticed their oldest daughter's still and ashen body on the floor in the corner.

Gudrun pushed past Sif with the fresh water and some clean cloths. As she dampened the cloths the way Sif had done for Thor so many times, she said to her, "We lost Hildi last night. Now Volstagg has contracted this illness in his attempts to save her."

"Gudrun," Sif said softly, taking the water jug from her shaking hands. "You must rest. I will care for you all. Lie down. Surely you are freezing."

Gudrun began to cry and Sif placed the jug on the bedside table and wrapped her arms around Gudrun's stout frame, holding her while she shook with sobs. Sif managed to tuck her in bed with the others and stayed with them until everyone fell asleep.

Her need for food became overpowering and she remembered Fandral had mentioned a fresh hunt yesterday. She headed towards the kitchens, having to hold onto the walls and columns along the way so she would not fall. She looked again at her skin to check its color. It still was not grey.

 _I have to eat._ She thought. It was all she could think, becoming a chant in her mind as she trudged on to the kitchens.

When she arrived they were void of life like the rest of the palace. Food was left out, half cured, half wrapped, as if the staff disappeared midway through their work. She smelled items before consuming them as some had clearly begun to rot. When she had eaten enough to feel able to stand again, she took in the scene in the kitchen with more detail. It was not empty like she had thought. People lay on the floor, skin ashen rather than grey. It was the color of Hildi's skin; the color of Æsir death. Sif moved slowly towards one of the bodies, tapping the leg with her foot before she knelt to check for a pulse. There was none.

A noise came from the next room and Sif stiffened, standing up quickly. She inched towards the direction of the noise, her sword pulled. She moved through the open doorway and found herself staring at a massive stag.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the animal in a soft voice as not to startle it.

The stag looked at her with scared, black eyes. She noticed its skin was greyer than was normal for deer and it began to whimper in a way Sif had never known deer to do. She put her sword down and slowly approached the creature. When she was only six feet away it turned and ran to the other side of the room, its hooves clumsy on the tile.

Sif let out a scream. When the stag had turned, it revealed the other side of its body, which was cut open like it had been quartered.

"What in Hel happened to you?" Sif whispered. "How are you alive?"

The stag lay on the floor, still whimpering. Sif knew she needed to kill it to end its suffering. She readied her sword again and spoke in a soothing voice as she approached it. She stabbed it cleanly and swiftly through the heart and the stag slumped fully to the floor.

When she pulled her blade from its body, it was covered in black blood. _Only the Jötnar have blood like this._ Sif thought. _I must tell Heimdall. He must bring them back from Jötunheim. It could only be a trap._


	13. Chapter 13

**_Songs for this chapter: "Call of Duty: MW3" by Brian Tyler; "MW3 End Credits" by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

Jane and Fandral touched down lightly on the fresh snow of Jötunheim, followed closely by Tony's massive metal form falling into a roll. They smiled at each other before going to check on Tony.

"Not bad for your first time!" Jane assured him.

Tony shook himself out, trying to get all the snow off his suit. Jane motioned with her hand and swept it off with magic.

"Thanks," Tony said. "Guess that's quicker."

"Yeah," Jane said brightly. "Just rearranging molecular composition. No big deal."

"Right, Utgard is that way." Fandral said. He looked at Jane before setting off, "You're certain about this?"

"I have to talk to Nál." Jane said. "In person."

"They cannot know about Asgard." Fandral said.

"Fandral, trust me. I know." Jane said.

"Forgive me, Jane." Fandral said and gave her a slight bow. "Last time I saw you, you were a very different person."

"Fandral," Jane began. "I have changed so much since then."

"I can tell." Fandral said, touching the cloak Jane had conjured for him on Asgard for emphasis. "Tell us what happened to you after Loki took you from Asgard."

"They do not know yet?" Nál's voice said.

Jane looked to find Nál and some guards approaching.

"Holy shit." Tony squeaked out.

Fandral lowered into a deep bow.

"Rise, Warrior of Asgard" Nál commanded. "No formalities are required on this visit."

Nál moved to Jane and touched her face while saying, "My child, you look unwell."

"Sick with grief." Jane said as she changed form under Nál's touch. Her voice became Jötunn and its tone matched Nál's in its regality. "My home realm of Midgard is dying."

"The black fire?" Nál asked.

Jane nodded.

"Come, let us get inside before your friends die of shock." Nál laughed.

Jane looked down at Tony and Fandral. While Tony's face was hidden by his visor, she was certain it mimicked Fandral's slack jaw.

"You're..." Fandral tried to say.

"Yeah, I get the change of heart now, Foster. Facial hair does not work with that skin type." Tony said. He turned to Nál and flipped up his visor, "I'm Tony Stark."

"Nál, Queen of Jötunheim." Nál said without emotion. "Shall we proceed?"

"Please," Jane said.

After they had walked half the distance to Utgard with Tony flying alongside them to keep up with their pace, Nál asked Jane, "What does he mean by 'change of heart'?"

"Nothing," Jane lied. "He thinks I've forsaken Thor for Loki, but nothing could be further from the truth."

"Hm," was all Nál said.

"You know what role Loki is to play. Why I cannot kill him yet." Jane said.

"The weave has not yet been pulled from the loom." Nál said.

Jane could feel Fandral's eyes on her though he said nothing.

"What is that?" Tony asked. He was looking at the massive sphere of orka in the sky.

"It's our main export," Nál explained. "It's called orka."

"Orca? I didn't realize Shamu died and became a moon-star. I guess all whales go to heaven, too?" Tony joked to Jane.

"It's an energy source," Jane explained. "But all forms of energy, not just electricity."

Tony nodded, still staring at the orb. "And the emissions? Its atmospheric loss?"

"None." Jane said. "Truly sustainable energy."

"Like the—" Tony started.

"Yes." Jane cut him off quickly. Bringing up the tesseract on Jötunheim was not a wise idea.

Tony did not understand the conflict, but at Jane's tone he didn't press further on the topic.

"We will give you some this evening, Tony Stark." Nál said. "It is all we consume here."

Jane gave Tony a smile and he gave her a thumbs up to show his excitement. She wondered how afraid he was under his suit. It was hard to remember Jötunheim under mortal eyes and strength. The place was so different to her now. It was still beautiful, but lacked its previous shadows of menace.

When they reached the cliff face gate, it opened automatically for its queen. The hall was vast and Jane could see every crevice with her Jötunn eyesight. She put a hand on Fandral's shoulder as he began to reach for his sword. It would be impossible for him not to feel threatened here, surrounded by the monsters of his childhood.

"You are safe with me." Jane told him softly.

Fandral nodded and dropped his hands to his side reluctantly, still wary of the race he had only learned to hate.

"Night vision, JARVIS." Tony said, making Jane smile. Tony hardly had the same mortal restrictions she'd had.

Skaði emerged from one of the side paths and gave their group a nod.

"Jane, Fandral," she said. "Nice to see you both. How fares Asgard?"

"Skaði! It's been ages!" Fandral exclaimed and moved to hug her. She shrunk into Vanir form at his touch and Tony let out a gasp. Fandral pulled from the embrace continuing to touch her skin and added, "Asgard fares well."

"I am glad to hear it. What brings you to Utgard?" she asked.

"Me," Tony said, flipping up his visor.

"Oh," Skaði's surprise could not mask her attraction to Tony. "A mortal dressed as a tiny destroyer."

"No fire breathing." Jane assured Skaði.

"Good," she replied and gave Tony a look over.

"Loki sends his regards from prison." Jane said. She couldn't resist.

"Tell him to go fuck himself." Skaði shot back before composing herself. "Sorry, that was out of turn."

"Not sure it was, actually." Tony grinned as he looked between the two women who shared a look.

The group laughed and Skaði gave them a quick nod before saying, "I will see you this evening at the festivities."

As she left them her Jötunn form returned and Jane saw her throw another glance down at Tony.

 _Not my business,_ Jane thought.

~.~.~

Nál led Jane, Fandral, and Tony to the guest quarters, which were much nicer than the laboratory Jane had been stuck in the last time she was there. Everything was made from ice, but there were piles of fur blankets in every room.

"Will there be an orka shell for Tony?" Jane asked Nál after the brief tour was complete. There was no way he could survive the night here just under blankets.

"Arrangements are in place for your mortal friend." Nál said.

"Thank you. And the library?" Jane said, not forgetting why they came.

"Yes, you are of course welcome to the library at any time in Jötunn form. Your friends' thermal energy is not permitted, however, as they would melt the collections."

"Of course." Jane said.

"Is she calling us hot?" Tony joked.

Fandral laughed and Nál and Jane exchange a polite look of annoyance.

"Jane, if it is not a burden, I would like to speak with you privately before you enter the library." Nál said.

Jane nodded, knowing that Nál was not asking, and turned to Tony and Fandral to say, "Behave while I'm gone. One billionaire playboy, I can handle. But the two of you together? Who knows what trouble you'll get into!"

"I believe Skaði was planning a game of chance in the Hall of Skrýmir." Nál said to them. "I'm sure she can accommodate you both."

"Game of chance? Sounds good to me." Tony said. "You in, Fandral?"

"Skaði's games are always worth it." Fandral replied with a devilish grin.

Jane couldn't help but wonder if Skaði was carrying on with Fandral, and if that were the case, had it been going on before she was with Loki? _Too many men._ Jane thought. _How does she juggle it?_

"It sounds as if everyone has occupation. Shall we retire to my chambers, Jane?" Nál said, her red imploring.

Jane smiled and nodded, waving to the two men before she followed Nál through an icy labyrinth of tunnels that led them back to the Chamber of Truth.

"Not actually my chambers," Nál said once they were inside behind closed doors. "I wished to speak to you without the distraction of magic"

"It's fine." Jane said. She wondered how Nál knew about her magic. _Did she see me remove the snow from Tony's suit when we arrived on Jötunheim?_ "What do you know about the black fire? What couldn't you tell me telepathically?"

"It is an ancient plague." Nál said. "I only know of its existence, but nothing of its details. You will have to research it here."

"So you don't know of a cure?" Jane asked.

"It's complicated." Nál said. "The cure is Jötunn blood, but its administration does not work on all species."

"How do you mean?"

"Your mortal Tony, while he seems unaffected, let us pretend he is ill. Now say Fandral as well is ill with the black fire. They could both receive your blood directly and both still die." Nál explained. "Jötunn blood is toxic. It contains chemicals that help our species continue. For instance, in a battle if you are wounded to the point of bleeding, this would chemically trigger feelings of rage inside of you."

"Yes, I have experienced that." Jane said. She felt almost relieved to learn her murderous impulses were technically normal. A mere chemical reaction she had no control over. Yet Loki had controlled his urges on Alfheim.

"It is unsettling in times of peace." Nál said, reading the emotion on Jane's face. "But our blood's properties also release a layer of protection. Perhaps you've experienced that as well?"

"I don't think so." Jane said. She couldn't think of any shield that her blood had enabled while fighting Loki. Nál's subtle reaction was one of relief and Jane felt more comfortable.

"But there is another matter we need to discuss." Nál said. "Your visions from the Well of Mimir. As I explained when you were last here, the Well of Mimir shows you fate. These visions are the ever moving fates of Yggdrasil, while the prophecies you have received from those who practice völva are specific events that will unfold."

"That's what I thought." Jane said. She cocked her head slightly and her tone became indignant as she asked, "Why did you not tell me you were giving me water from the Well of Mimir?"

"I apologize for the lack of transparency." Nál said. "It was my duty to fulfill within the prophecy. I did not want to risk you not accepting it."

"What prophecy?" Jane asked.

"I suppose you have experienced so many visions by now that prophecy becomes muted." Nál said. "I mean the prophecy of the Triad. Surely your time in Vanaheim shed light on this?"

"Some light," Jane was cautious with her words. "Nothing about you giving me the waters of the Well of Mimir, though. What prophecy is that?"

"Valfreyja has withheld information from you." Nál said with worry in her voice.

"What information?" Jane asked. If Nál was worried that was not a good sign. Nál seemed unfazed by everything.

"Frigga foresaw that you were the next long-term ruler of Asgard and the Nine Realms." Nál said. "You've not seen this?"

"I suppose I have. I just did not understand." Jane said, thinking of her vision of Odin's death when Frigga spoke to her.

"It was clear before to the Triad. Frigga wrote us to express the prophecy of your uniqueness some years ago, just before Skaði's hasty return from Vanaheim with Loki in tow." Nál said. Based on such a timeline, Jane wondered if this prophecy was the reason Frigga was willing to sacrifice her life to protect Jane's. Nál continued, "We needed to get you into an immortal state though. When Loki came with you, I knew what I had to do. He just made it so easy."

"I don't understand though. Why me? Why not Thor? Or even Loki? He is next in line if Thor dies." Jane asked.

"As I so often tell my small council, nothing is certain until the weaves are pulled from the loom." Nál said. "But like you said outside, Loki's purpose is limited. He only serves to lead you to the throne, not to take it."

"It's ironic." Jane said, thinking how desperately Loki wanted to rule Asgard.

"Fate often is." Nál replied.

"What happens if I refuse?" Jane asked. "I never wanted to be queen, even when it meant marrying Thor. So, what now?"

"Nothing is certain." Nál said again, her tone was hard this time. "But many have sacrificed to get you into this position. Even Thor himself, though he may not be aware. Your destiny is unfolding Jane, you would be foolish to fight it. I made my small council aware of your fate and we all are here to support you."

Jane contemplated this. Could she be Queen of Asgard? It seemed a ridiculous notion. Plus what would stop Loki from killing her if she was ruler instead of him? Jane knew that answer already; her prophecy had never been about Thor. As she remembered Loki's recent kiss, she became even more determined to save Thor. Otherwise she would be pitted against Loki for the one thing he truly wanted. Otherwise she would be fated to kill Loki.

"I'm not even Æsir. This could never happen." Jane said to Nál, trying to find another reason to avoid becoming queen.

"Has Loki perjured you this much?" Nál asked. "He did not make your guise as mortal, Jane. He does not even possess the ability to do so. No, you are Æsir under guise. He could only breathe into you one of his two forms—Jötunn or Æsir. Do you not notice the difference in your own self?"

"I thought it was just the effects of my true Jötunn form." Jane said.

She felt ashamed that she'd entertained the idea that Loki had intended to make her more striking than she had been before.

"No, Jane. You are now Æsir to all but those who know the truth. Loki changed you. In its guise your skin even radiates the glow of the Æsir lifeforce."

"I see." Jane said. She was still lost in thought process of how Loki saw her, based on this new information. Perhaps she had perceived his actions inaccurately. She reflected on the inner thoughts of his that she had read within the past two days and decided that she was being insecure. As complicated and vast as Loki's emotional experience was, Jane knew that he cared for her. He cared more deeply than he might care to admit.

"So you see how your future must unfold?" Nál asked.

Jane hesitated. The future she had seen thus far was quite bleak. It was not something she wanted to experience, let alone accept.

"Jane?" Nál pressed.

"Yes." Jane said finally. "I do not agree with everything, and I will save Asgard best I can, but I do see my future."

"Jane," Nál began. Her red eyes were grave. "Do not let us down."

"You must understand what you're asking of me." Jane said, aghast. "I am from Earth. We don't even have this kind of stuff there."

"That's untrue." Nál replied. "I sense fear in you. Your hesitancy to embrace who you are is unfounded."

"Yes, I am scared. But wouldn't you be? How did you even become queen? Through another's death?" Jane asked.

"How does anyone become queen? A man must always die." Nál said. "I was born into a noble tribe at the exact time a mate for the royal tribe was needed. Timing was the only reason to lead me on this path. Perhaps it is your timing with Thor that leads you on yours?"

Jane said nothing. She had not only not explained that she and Thor were no longer together, but in fact had expressed the opposite. She did not want Nál to have reason to distrust her though.

"Perhaps," Jane said finally. "If I am to marry him, to become queen—"

"No Jane!" Nál interrupted her. "Your fate was never to marry Thor. Your fate is to rule the Nine Realms. No marriage has been woven into this."

"Why can I not see this?"

"Give it time. The Well of Mimir is not always swift, but its accuracy is undeniable."

Jane thought of Loki's future suffering. She did not want to believe that was accurate.

"And what about Loki?" Jane asked after a moment.

"What about him? He's nearly completed his purpose with you. Then he is disposable." Nál said more coldly than Jane expected.

"He's your son." Jane protested, recalling Loki's painful memory of being forcefully taken from Nál's arms by Odin.

"Is he? I never see him. He never calls me his mother. No, he was lost to me a long time ago. He is Frigga's son. Even if she did not give birth to him, she underwent all the pains of raising him. I imagine that was a far worse labor."

Jane looked away from Nál. There was too much emotion in these words for her to respond calmly.

"I will take you to the Well of Mimir tomorrow, Jane." Nál said. "Perhaps seeing the looms with your own eyes will help you accept your future."

Jane nodded, still unable to speak. She worried to see the Norns in person. If they were what she truly hated, would she be able to control herself? Perhaps she could remain in Æsir form while there.

"We are all meeting in an hour's time at the Hall of Skrýmir. I will take you to the library in the meantime." Nál said.

Jane followed her out of the Chamber of Truth and across the main hall. Nál introduced her to a guard who would escort Jane the rest of the way to the library and left them.

"This way." The guard said in a gravelly voice. His face was deeply scarred and Jane knew others would find him intimidating, but she did not.

Once they were alone in an icy corridor he spoke again, something the Æsir guards would never do, "You are connected with Thor?"

"Yes," Jane said. "Why?"

"Last time he and his petulant gang were here, he killed my father." The guard growled.

"I am sorry for your loss." Jane said coolly.

"You are not." The guard said. He stopped walking and faced Jane. "You may be in Nál's favor, but you are not Jötunn. I will gladly kill you to avenge my father."

Jane saw the guard's hand growing a sword of ice and she backed up while fixing him with a stare.

"You dare threaten me?" she said, unsure where the power in her voice came from. "When I rule the Nine Realms, you shall regret this moment."

The guard laughed and lunged for her. Jane transported herself behind him and pressed the space behind his ear with the tip of the dagger she conjured.

"Again," she hissed. "I am sorry for your loss. Shall I kill you here or will we move past your indiscretion and continue to the library?"

She could feel the guard's heart racing and she was careful not to spill any of his blood. That would send him into a frenzy at his current level of anger. Like Nál had explained, the exposure of blood would chemically trigger the response of rage for the wounded Jötunn. From her time fighting Loki on Alfheim, Jane knew that heightened emotion only served to worsen the feelings of rage.

"You would trust me now to escort you?" the guard finally managed to say.

Jane gripped his neck and turned him to face her, her form changing to Jötunn. She bore into his red eyes with her own, the dagger still behind his ear.

"You may think I am not Jötunn, but as you can see, you are mistaken." Jane said. "I will trust you because the Jötnar will always care for our own. We are not the monsters that Thor Odinsson takes us for, and you will learn to act accordingly. You are not the only one without a father. Understood?"

"Yes." The guard growled.

"Good." Jane said and tossed him a few feet away from her. "Now take me to the library."

He turned, the ice sword gone from his arm and led them through the icy corridors. Jane felt the exhilaration of power course through her with every step. Once they arrived at the library, she remembered why she was there and her excitement faded. She wondered if there would be enough information to reason out a functional cure. She could not let Thor die. Not now. He was her only remaining hope of avoiding her fate.

Jane nodded to the guard to dismiss him, holding his eyes a long threatening moment before he averted his gaze.

"You will need to change form to enter." He said.

"Then give me your blood." Jane commanded.

The guard pulled his claw through his wrist and offered it to Jane. She took some of his blood and smeared it onto the back of her hand. Her form quickly changed. She held her hand over the guard's wrist and healed him. His eyes widened at this magic.

"Forgive me." He said to her with a bow.

Jane just stared at him passively until he left.

She turned to the final tunnel that led to the library. It was colder than the main halls and only Jötnar could survive it. It was an acclimatization vestibule, Jane realized as she moved through its final section. The tunnel opened to a vast cavern. From up here it looked like a massive record store, but all the album covers were uniform and transparent. There was no stairwell down from the platform at the end of tunnel, so she jumped. Her landing was graceful and catlike and she began her search for the index. The library appeared empty and she wondered if everyone was already at the Hall of Skrýmir.

She went to a case that housed ice sheets and began to thumb through them. Everything was in Jötunn, chiseled into the sheets. There was no immediately obvious system, and not wanting to waste her time before what sounded like mandatory evening activities, she focused on extending her illusion to a particular cell in the Asgard prisons.

"Not dead yet?" Loki smiled at her.

"Nearly." Jane said. "Thanks to your training, I think I converted a new follower."

"Oh? Planning to lead Jötunheim now? I wouldn't mention that to Nál. Or Skaði for that matter." Loki frowned.

"Ah, yes, Skaði says hello." Jane smiled.

"I bet she does." Loki laughed. "Though with Fandral there, I'm sure she is very well occupied."

He gave Jane a wink and she laughed.

"They are together now in fact." Jane said mischievously. "She gets around, that one. She was even eying Tony."

"A mortal? Her standards have dropped."

"Hm, most people would say anyone is a step up from you." Jane said.

"What do you have to tell me, Jane? Or did you just miss me so much you needed to come tease me?"

"Have you been to the library?" Jane asked.

"Once. They don't have an index." Loki said, guessing Jane's reason for reaching out.

"That's problematic." Jane said.

"Are you there now? You must be, given your form." He said.

Jane nodded and said, "Can you help?"

"I can try. What has Nál told you?"

"Basically nothing. Our blood is the cure, but if we administer it, we are more likely to kill everyone than heal them. The good news is that we are immune as Jötnar."

"So the disease is of Jötunn origin?" Loki asked.

"I guess. She said it was ancient."

"You may be in more danger than I realized, Jane." Loki said.

"I don't know. Nál seemed to not know much about it. I don't think she's involved."

"She is a better liar than me." Loki said. "You need to be careful."

Jane cast a look around, seeing no one.

"I don't have much time until the evening's events begin. Can you help me with the library?"

"Have you consumed the orka yet?" he asked.

"No, should I?"

"Yes, the orka will reveal where you need to go in the stacks." Loki said. "There should've been some when you first went in, on the platform."

Jane looked up to the platform and saw what she'd assumed to be a lamp before.

"Just climb the wall." Loki said seeing her glance upwards. "Why else do you have claws?"

Jane let out a growl as she extended her claws.

"Wait," Loki said. "Once you consume orka there, you'll be linked automatically with your tribe."

"What's the next step then?" Jane asked. No one could know that she was working with Loki.

"Consume the orka, think about what information you seek, and then look to where the light falls. The library will link telepathically with you."

"The library is sentient?" Jane asked.

"Of course." Loki said. "Did Nál explain nothing?"

Jane shook her head, suddenly feeling worried for Tony and Fandral's safety.

"Find the information, Jane. You need to get out of Jötunheim as fast as possible."

"Okay, I'm going." She said and started towards the wall to climb it. After taking in Loki's trim body a moment longer, she retracted her illusion and scaled the wall.

At the top of the platform sat an ice cauldron full of orka. She took a scoop of the orka and swallowed it. As her tribe's voices filled her head, she focused her thoughts on black fire. After a minute of nothing happening, the far left section of the stacks began to glow. Jane jumped from the platform and hurried towards the light.

She started flipping through the ice sheets, trying to find anything that clearly read 'black fire'. Being entirely self-taught, she was not fully fluent at reading the runic Jötunn writing, so her progress did not move quickly. Finally something appeared relevant. She pulled the sheet from the ice crate and began reading. The writing was all in poetry and she was amazed at how much more sophisticated Jötunheim was than Asgard. She tried to control her thoughts, fairly well practiced now from all the time spent around Loki, and no one seemed to take notice of her. She realized that they were all in a constantly linked state and ignoring each other was second nature.

As Jane translated the text, she found a particular passage to note:

_Underneath the Deathless_

_Acre within affable_

_Gudmund's Glittering Plains_

_Lies free open black flames._

_Moved in fluid, further_

_By air, love's embrace ends_

_Those who dare. Only cure:_

_Jötunn bloodlines of mates_

_Who make the stolen heir._

Nál's voice came through the link, reminding everyone of the night's festivities in the Hall of Skrýmir, if they were not already there, and that the mortal and Æsir guests were to be respected and considered friends.

The tribe mentally murmured their understanding, Jane included. She put away the ice sheet and memorized the section of the library she was in so she would not need to consume orka the next time she came. She wanted to understand the text privately given how defenseless Asgard was currently.

To avoid suspicion, Jane remained linked to the tribe for now and climbed the wall back up to the platform.

"Thank you for your patronage." A voice thought into her brain in Jötunn.

Jane thought back the Jötunn word for "You're welcome."

 _Sentient library._ She thought with a laugh.

She realized after emerging from the acclimatization vestibule that she had no clue where the Hall of Skrýmir was.

"Go right and follow that tunnel to its end. On your left is the Hall." A voice who didn't belong to Nál thought into her mind. Jane followed the instructions and soon found herself in a very crowded and noisy hall.

There were no banquet tables like in Asgard and Vanaheim, instead an empty space surrounded by rock chairs and ice cauldrons of orka filled the massive room.

"You found it!" a teenage Jötunn girl said to Jane.

Jane recognized her voice as the one who gave her directions and she smiled at the girl. She noticed her forehead markings matched her own.

"I'm Jane." Jane held out her hands to show respect.

"You don't need to do that with your own tribe!" the Jötunn girl giggled. "I am Gerðr, Nál's daughter. I'm so glad to finally meet you, Jane. They wouldn't let me before when Loki was here."

"Are you his sister?" Jane asked.

"No!" the girl laughed. "Siblings are only counted of dual parentage on Jötunheim. Our fathers differ."

"I see." Jane said.

"They say you know real magic, not just Æsir magic?"

"I do." Jane said.

"Can you show me?"

Jane smiled and debated what to show Gerðr.

"Anything is fine." She smiled at Jane, able to read her thoughts.

"Okay," Jane said and then conjured a purple crocus and handed it to Gerðr.

"What is it?" Gerðr asked, gently taking the stem of the flower to examine it.

"A crocus. It's a Midgardian flower that is first to bloom in the springtime." Jane said with excitement. "Sometimes they even pop out of the snow."

"I've never seen a flower before." Gerðr said softly, turning the crocus over in her icy hand.

"Never? Have you never left Jötunheim?" Jane asked

"Of course not." Gerðr said with wide red eyes. "It's unsafe."

Jane smiled and nodded, saying, "I cannot disagree with that, Gerðr."

"Foster!" Tony's voice called. He sounded more jovial than usual. "Where you been, Babe the Big Blue? Busy with Bunyan, I assume. You missed all the fun!"

As he approached, Gerðr bowed and left thinking to Jane, "Nice to meet you, Jane."

"You too" Jane thought back.

"Hey Tony!" Jane said with a grin as Gerðr walked away. "You having fun? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah! I basically conquered this place." He replied.

Fandral walked over to them with Skaði at his side. Their expressions wore amusement.

"You conquered it?" Jane asked with a laugh.

"Totally! I beat that guy, that one, the dude over there, that chick there." He said pointing to various Jötnar who looked wounded. Once Tony noticed Fandral and Skaði had arrived he added, "Fandral wouldn't fight me, the coward, and of course Skaði was the judge so she couldn't."

"Oh," Jane said, nodding. "So the game of chance was just a fight?"

"No, we tired of the game." Skaði said with a devilish grin that reminded Jane of Loki.

"Tony has been consuming orka." Fandral explained to Jane.

"Jane, it's amazing! You have to try some." Tony grinned sloppily.

"I have, thanks." Jane said. "Tony, are you intoxicated?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." He grinned and put his hands on her arms as far as he could reach on her Jötunn form. "I'm telling you, this shit is amazing. JARVIS loves it. Loves. You can't get enough, right buddy?"

"Sir, we are powered 157,622 percent." JARVIS's voice said quickly, as if in hyperdrive.

Jane looked to Skaði and Fandral with some alarm and asked, "How much has he had?"

"Not much." Fandral said.

"He's acting like he's on drugs." Jane said. "Will he come down from this?"

"In time." Skaði said. "Direct consumption kills many mortals."

"And you let him have it?" Jane growled, getting right in Skaði's face.

"Watch yourself." Skaði growled back.

"Ladies, ladies, there's plenty of Fandral to go around." Fandral said, pushing them apart.

"Don't let him have any more." Jane said icily, boring her eyes into Skaði's.

"Oh, am I to control your guest then?" Skaði said.

"Handling men seems to be your talent." Jane replied.

Skaði gave her a murderous glare and then burst into laughter.

"If this is about Loki, you can have him. No respectable Jötunn would want a thing to do with the murderer of our king. From what I hear, he's murdered your king, too. When will he stop, Jane? Do you not think he will murder you as well once you ascend the throne?" Skaði's eyes flashed. "I hope he does."

"If this were about Loki, which I assure you it is not, then I would tell you not to worry because I will kill him before he has the chance." Jane said easily and then steeled her voice to say, "This is about protecting my friend, however, which is not something I take lightly."

"Skaði, come. Let us go enjoy the festivities from another vantage point." Fandral said, attempting to pull Skaði with him. She wouldn't budge until she'd shifted to Vanir form at his touch.

Finally in a haughty huff she gave Jane another threatening look and turned to go with Fandral, allowing him to wrap his arm around her coaxingly.

"It's totally about Loki." Tony said, stepping next to Jane and giving her a light nudge.

"Shut up." Jane said.

Tony laughed and said, "Well, he's got style, I'll give you that. Apart from his psychopathic tendencies, of course."

Jane said nothing. She couldn't allow herself to think while linked to her tribe. Finally she turned to Tony and put a finger under his chin to make him look her in the eye.

"No more orka, okay?" she said.

"Yes, mom." Tony teased.

"I am serious." Jane said.

"I can tell." Tony said. "You're being a real spoilsport."

"If you want to die on Jötunheim, that's your prerogative. "Jane said. "But I'm not going to be the one to tell Pepper."

Tony's face drew into a frown. Jane wondered if he'd forgotten about Pepper until right then.

"Hey, come on," Jane said more softly. "You won all those fights, huh? That's impressive. I suck at fighting."

Tony looked at Jane, "You're so scary though, I doubt you ever have to fight."

Jane laughed and asked, "Why am I scary?"

"You're a giant blue thing with creepy red eyes!" Tony waved his hand over the expanse of her Jötunn body. "I don't know, Foster. It's more than that. You've changed. You just seem dangerous."

Jane frowned. _Am I dangerous?_ She wondered.

"And this business with Crazy Pants?" Tony continued. "He's a bad guy, Jane."

Jane's eyes narrowed at Tony and she said icily, "I know him better than anyone. I know what kind of a man he is."

"Are you sure?" Tony asked. "Maybe you just want to see him a certain way."

"Tony," Jane said. "I have seen his most hidden memories. The things that stitch together a person's soul over time. I know how it feels to be him. What his pain feels like, his anger, his lust, his greed. I know his outrage and frustration, his pleasure, the never ending reaches of his intellect. I know how he feels regret and how he feels awe. I have seen inside of his heart and I know what sort of man he is. So please, keep your mortal judgments to yourself."

"That, right there." Tony said, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "That's not the Jane I know."

Jane held his eyes a moment before averting her gaze. His words clawed at her insides.


	14. Chapter 14

**_Songs for this chapter: "Skin" by Grimes; "Radioactive (Live At The Joint)" by Imagine Dragons; "Double Bubble Trouble" by M.I.A._ **

* * *

When Sif reached the Observatory, Heimdall was waiting for her.

"I will not send you to Jötunheim." He said.

"No, I do not seek to go." Sif said. "I seek to call Fandral and Jane back to Asgard."

"And the mortal?" Heimdall asked.

"He is still alive?" Sif asked, shocked.

"Alive and winning combat games." Heimdall said with a smile.

"Combat games?" Sif furrowed her brow.

"It is First Harvest Moon tonight." Heimdall reminded her.

"They celebrate with combat games?" Sif asked. She never had bothered to learn Jötunn cultural traditions, after all, how could monsters even have culture?

"Yes, Lady Sif. Something I am certain you would enjoy." Heimdall said.

Sif could not disagree; combat games sounded much more fun than the overeating and drunken flyting that happened on Asgard during a typical First Harvest Moon. She thought of the dead Æsir in the kitchens.

"Heimdall, you must bring them back from Jötunheim. It is a trap." Sif said. "I found a stag in the kitchens, the one from the hunt yesterday. It was alive."

"Alive? How do you mean?"

"Half its body quartered, as anyone would prepare venison for storage, but it was alive."

"How is that possible?" Heimdall said into the air.

"I do not know, but when I brought end to its suffering, the blood it left on my blade was black." Sif said. "Black as Jötunn blood."

"Are you certain?" Heimdall asked. "Jötunn blood is bluish black. Did this blood have that blue tinge to it?"

"No." Sif realized. "But,"

"Sif, Jane may be our only chance at a cure. She is close to learning the truth. We must give her time there."

Sif sighed heavily. _When did Jane become brave?_ She thought, even though she knew though that Jane had always been brave. Her willingness to go to Svartalfheim to save Asgard from further battle proved that. Even if her theory about Jane and Fandral was true, they both cared for Asgard's prosperity. She would have to trust them to find a cure in Jötunheim.

"Go and check on Thor." Heimdall said. "Abigæl grows weak. She needs to rest."

Sif looked at his eyes, the gateways to so many lives, and noticed the black squiggles around the gold irises.

"Heimdall?" she said softly, moving to touch his arm in a comforting way. His skin was freezing. Sif gasped. "How are you able to stand? You should be bedridden at this stage of symptoms."

"Do not worry for me, Sif. I am consuming orka to maintain my strength." Heimdall explained. "It is critical I remain vigilant now. We are at our most vulnerable time."

"The orka sustains you?" Sif asked, thinking of Thor.

"It sustains me, yes, but my body composition differs from Thor's." Heimdall said with a tone of caution, sensing Sif's thought process. "It may immediately kill him. We do not know. It is not worth the risk."

Sif nodded.

"I am serious, Sif."

"I understand, Heimdall." Sif said softly. "Please call for me if you need anything."

"I will."

Sif squeezed his arm, which she now noticed lacked its usual Æsir luster and was a dull brown instead. Heimdall covered her hand with his own and they nodded to each other before Sif headed back to the palace.

When she arrived in the king's chambers, Abigæl was strewn across the bed in a strange position. Sif immediately thought she was dead, rushing to check her pulse. Her skin was grey, not ashen, and her pulse beat weakly like Thor's. Sif lifted her sleeping body, debating where to carry her. Finally she decided to go to the next room over, the queen's chambers. Sif had only been inside the room once, when she was much younger, and it felt like a spiritual force hovered in the chambers' shadows. _Nothing is here._ Sif assured herself before she tucked Abigæl into the bed Frigga rarely had used.

Sif started a fire to warm the room and noticed that several portraits lined the mantelpiece. All but one were done in charcoal. The other was needlepoint, Frigga's handiwork. The threads were gold and green, accenting the black hair of Loki's portrait. Frigga had given him a sly grin and the whitish silver thread that made up his eyes moved with a fluidity of enchantment around the vivid green irises.

Sif looked away from this portrait to the one of Thor. Even in the grey tones of charcoal, his blue eyes popped to life. In the portrait, Thor looked about 670 years old, a couple decades past his thirteenth quinquagenary and still in his early adolescence. She could remember this Thor vividly. He was brash and unruly; full of youthful energy.

Sif found a case of vintage Vanir wine in the shelves by the mantelpiece and opened a bottle. She picked up the portrait as she drank from the bottle, reminiscing on the times this Thor would appear in her room, just after dark. They would sneak past her father and older brother to go on an adventure night after night. Thor had told her he was part Jötunn, so he could see in the dark. She had believed him until the time Loki came along with them. Sif had not wanted Loki to come, fearing he would interfere with her time alone with Thor, but Thor had reveled in Loki's accompaniment. He was excited to show off his bravery in front of his little brother.

They had stolen a flying boat that night, an act Thor always referred to as 'borrowing'. While flying much too fast for Sif's comfort level and boasting of his Jötunn eyesight to them both, Thor nearly crashed them into the broad cliffs of the Askjafjöll Mountains. Loki had violently shoved Thor away from the boat's controls and steered them to safety with milliseconds to spare. She still could remember today, almost a millennium later, the exact words Loki yelled right after saving them.

"You would have killed Sif merely to impress her with your lies? You do not deserve her!" he had screamed in Thor's face. Then he had looked at Sif with an expression of utter disgust and said with disdain, "I assumed you wanted better than this. That was my mistake and I will never make it again."

At the time, Sif had been so pleased to hear that Thor cared to impress her that she had not heard the real meaning of Loki's words. She had not understood why he refused to speak to either of them for months. All she knew at the time was that when Frigga finally forced him to speak to them again, nothing was the same as before. She knew now that Loki had been right. Thor had matured of course, as had she, but at the time, Loki had been right about them both.

She looked at the signature on the portrait in her hand, Loki's striking script still utterly familiar to her. He had taught her how to write in script. Three days a week he would come for an hour to teach her and correct her technique. He always managed to steal her favorite lemon pastry from the bakery before showing up. He never told her how. She knew now that he had used magic to conceal himself. Sif's handwriting had been atrocious, but Loki was patient with her. Then the flying boat incident happened and he never came by for a lesson again. Sif had not eaten a lemon pastry since.

She realized Loki's path to destruction had begun that night on the flying boat. If she had refused to let him join them, if she had not so easily believed Thor's ridiculous lie, if she had pleaded for Thor to slow down, then maybe everything would be different. Maybe they would never have arrived in this situation of despair. Maybe Loki would not have killed Odin.

 _But he did._ Sif reminded herself. Her heart hardened against Loki once again. Odin's murder was the final flourish to his seemingly infinite list of misdeeds and betrayals. She was tired of ceding to Loki's whims the way Thor always did. He needed to be stopped once and for all.

She put Thor's portrait back on the mantel and noticed a loose piece of parchment lying next to it. It contained a rough sketch of Jane. There was no signature with it and it did not resemble Loki's surrounding charcoal work. She turned the parchment over to find a letter written in both Vanir and Jötunn. Sif could not read either language, and all she could make out was Frigga's signature at the bottom and the symbol of the Triad at the top. She considered for a brief moment bringing it to Loki to translate. He was verbally fluent in every language in the Nine Realms and could read all the official languages. His nickname of Silver Tongued Prince originally had purveyed from his innate linguistic talent, not his cunning ability to lie. Sif noticed the space on the mantel around where the parchment had lain was covered in a layer of dust as if no one had touched it before she just had. She decided it was too dangerous to entrust Frigga's words to Loki's mind and replaced the parchment on the mantel exactly where she had found it.

Sif heard Thor moan in the other room. She cast a quick glance at Abigæl, who remained asleep, before she went to check on him.

* * *

"Welcome everyone!" Nál proclaimed from the high seat in the front of the Hall of Skrýmir. "Since we have guests tonight, I will use common tongue. It will be fine practice for all of us."

There were some murmurs of complaint in the crowd that immediately died out when Nál lifted her hand.

"As you know, tonight marks the start of Vanaheim's First Harvest Moon." Nál continued. "To pay homage to such an occasion, we will hold our annual Tournament of Skrýmir."

A chorus of cheers went up from the crowd.

"What is all of this?" Tony asked Jane over the noise.

Jane shrugged, but Gerðr began to fill her in telepathically.

"The celebration is a mockery of Vanaheim's power. Their beloved harvest moon is also when they attempted attack on Jötunheim. King Skrýmir easily beheaded their best warrior and the rest of their army fled. We do not consider this a victory since the Vanir forces were so pathetic in their retreat." Gerðr explained.

"When was this?" Jane thought back.

"Thousands of years ago." Gerðr thought.

Jane turned to Tony and recapped the tale.

"How did you just suddenly know that?" he asked.

"Each tribe's members are telepathically linked. One of mine just explained it." Jane said.

"Oh." Tony said, looking around the hall with fresh eyes. The orka seemed to be wearing off.

"The rules are such that no tribe members can fight one another, due to the obvious advantages." Nál was saying.

"Holy shit. It's like a tournament-tournament." Tony said. "Think they'll let me fight again?"

"Shush." Jane said trying to hear Nál.

"When a kill point is met or a contestant surrenders, the fight ends." Nál continued. "No unnecessary wounds, please. We do not want any accidents this year."

A loud mumbling came from the crowd with a couple of growls. Jane moved closer to Tony, positioning her arm behind him in a protective manner.

"As is custom, the Skrýmir tribe and the ruling tribe will begin the tournament." Nál said. "Skrýmir's tribe has sent Gymir to fight and we will send our newest member, Jane Foster."

"Shit." Jane muttered, shocked Nál chose her to fight

"Didn't you say you sucked at fighting?" Tony said.

"Yeah." Jane said. "Maybe it's good form for Skrýmir's tribe to win?"

"Good luck. He looks...big." Tony said, pushing Jane forward towards the empty center of the hall where the bulky Jötunn Gymir was headed.

"He's my dad." Gerðr thought into Jane's mind. "He's strong, but slow. Use your speed to your advantage."

"Thanks," Jane thought back.

Nál had not stipulated whether magic could be used or not. Loki's voice ran through her mind in its harsh tone saying, "Use your strengths." Jane took a deep breath and walked to the center of what she could now see was a ring. Gymir extended his claws and smiled at her somewhat patronizingly.

"You may look Jötunn, little girl, but you're not." Gymir said.

His tribe cheered. Jane let out a growl and extended her claws.

"You're right." She said with a challenging smile. "I am so much more than merely Jötunn."

"Jane," Nál's voice thought in her head. "Do not lose."

"No, that wasn't in the plan." Jane thought back. Her Jötunn blood coursed with adrenaline. Her self-doubt from moments ago had disappeared, leaving her filled only with rage.

"The tournament will now commence." Nál declared.

Jane began to sidestep, circling around Gymir the way Loki would circle around her on Alfheim. Gymir gave a menacing grin and charged towards her. Jane ducked out of the way, rolling forward and getting quickly to her feet. She turned to find Gymir still recovering from his charge and knew this was her opening. Racing towards him, she projected an illusion that his massive arm backhanded, causing it to shimmer gold and green. Jane transported behind Gymir and pressed her claw to the space behind his ear. The crowd gasped as the time between the illusion and Jane's victory collided in their minds.

Gymir's tribe roared with protest, shouting words in Jötunn that Jane did not know.

"Enough." Nál bellowed. "There has never been a rule against using magic. You would all do well to learn how to fight against it."

Jane released Gymir and he turned to give a bow. Jane inclined her head slightly and Gymir left the ring.

"You come off now." Gerðr explained in Jane's mind. "Over here with your tribe."

Jane walked over to Gerðr, who was near the high seat Nál sat in. The Jötnar around her all smiled at Jane and some gave her encouraging shoves. Jane laughed and settled in to watch the next matchup, which was between Laufey's tribe and another member of Skrýmir's tribe.

"They have to go until someone from their tribe wins." Gerðr explained.

Skaði stepped into the ring for Laufey's tribe and shot Jane a look. Jane wished she hadn't pissed Skaði off earlier, but it was too late now.

"Don't worry about it." Gerðr said to Jane. "She hates women as a general thing. She's gotten even worse to be around ever since that whole mess with Freyr."

"What happened there?" Jane asked.

"It's complicated." Gerðr said. She gave the explanation mentally to Jane, "Freyr decided she was too beautiful not to marry, especially given her lineage to the throne. She hated him though, but loved the Vanir culture. She had them give her Vanir guise to anyone's touch but a Jötunn and then she proceeded to run off with Loki after he went to Vanaheim seeking help to take down Odin."

"When was this?" Jane asked through thought.

"A few years ago. It's all very fresh still." Gerðr thought. "Skaði did not realize Loki was using her until they arrived here and consumed orka, linking their minds."

"What happened?"

Gerðr laughed and thought, "You'll have to ask him. He did not leave here in good shape, I can attest to that. I think he fell in to that whole mess with Midgard shortly after."

"So, Skaði was into him?" Jane asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"I'm not sure how anyone could be interested in Loki. Even if they had seen into his heart." Gerðr thought.

Jane met her gaze a moment before looking away, quick to clear her mind before more thoughts of Loki seeped out. She focused on the fight at hand. The Skrýmir tribe had sent a female out and she and Skaði were somewhat evenly matched.

"How many tribes are there?" Jane asked.

"Ten." Gerðr said. "Only the noble tribes can participate."

* * *

Loki sat in his cell, which felt almost like a second home by now, waiting for Jane to reappear. He was attempting to figure out what nighttime activities they would be having on Jötunheim when he saw Sif approaching his cell. She was swaying slightly and Loki ascertained she was drunk. He had no idea with whom she would be drinking since at the moment everyone in Asgard seemed ill with plague except for Sif and himself. The image of her drinking alone while she watched Thor's life slipping away on the king's bed flickered through his mind. The thought was disturbing to him for many reasons; Thor's death not being one of them.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, esteemed Lady Sif?" Loki asked, standing up to move in front of her.

"Thought you might desire to learn your fate." She slurred out.

After being unable to ease Thor's moans of pain earlier, Sif had gone out to the balcony so she would not have to hear him. She finished the bottle of wine in the crisp afternoon air and went back to Frigga's bedroom for another bottle. Pacing the large balcony, she had oscillated between swigs of wine and screams of frustration before finally finishing that bottle, too. It was then she had decided to come see Loki. To inform him she was going to carry out his unofficial sentence tomorrow.

"You're intoxicated, Sif. Is my presence so overpowering?" Loki asked with mock innocence.

"It's the First Harvest Moon." Sif snapped. "And your execution has been approved."

"On whose authority? Odin is dead and your _king_ Thor is on his deathbed. The next in line to the throne is yours truly, and I will not be swinging my own axe." Loki sneered. "You would commit such treason, Sif? Oh dear, I dread to ponder what your beloved will think of you then."

"Only one here has committed treason, and it is not me." Sif said.

She banged her fist hard on the glass hoping Loki would flinch. His only reaction was to curve his lips into a smile.

"You are so certain the fault lies with me, but I tell you Sif it does not." Loki said, moving his face closer to the glass wall. "Let me explain your fate. Once you have beheaded me, Thor will continue to die. You will not marry him and you will never gain rite to the throne. Heimdall will rule in interim, as is his duty as ward. Jane will return, able to cure everyone with whatever Jötunheim produces for her, but it will be a trick. Everyone will die. The Jötnar and Vanir will squabble for control of Asgard and the remaining realms will forge an attack in their delay. If you think I would be so stupid as to kill Odin myself, then you are a fool. This is Nál's doing. Skaði's doing. Valfreyja's doing. They wait in the shadows for the Æsir court to die. One by one. If you truly love Asgard, then surely you will not kill its only immune heir."

"Your lies fall to deaf ears, Loki." Sif said hotly. "To think you once imagined I might ever fancy you! It would make me laugh if the idea were not so pathetically sad."

Loki stared at her wondering where these old emotions were coming from.

"I never even liked lemon pastries." Sif said in Loki's absence of words.

"Yes, you did." Loki said, surprised. "You really did."

"I never did." Sif said. She leaned in slightly to the glass, meeting Loki's green eyes fiercely with her own before adding, "It will be such a pleasure to be the one who finally brings end to your pitiful existence."

"Good luck with that." Loki smirked.

"Your time has run out. The realms will rejoice in your demise, Jötunn runt." Sif said.

Loki smiled at her broadly as she walked away. He wondered if he had underestimated Sif. Her usual sense of unnecessary compassion seemed rather lacking of late. He was curious as to what had triggered her comment about the lemon pastries. They had not baked them on Asgard for a few centuries because the climate cooled too drastically on Vanaheim to continue growing citrus commercially.

Once the dungeons were filled only with the groans of the dying again, Loki went to lie on the daybed. The hours passed and there was no sign of Jane. He began to worry she was dead. Surely Nál meant to use her as the means to end Asgard, though. It did not make sense for Nál to kill her, not yet. _Skaði though,_ he thought. _She may have other designs._

Fandral would not be enough to protect Jane, especially if he was wrapped up in Skaði's pleasures, and Tony, while intriguing, was no match for a Jötunn. Loki closed his eyes for a long time, trying to focus on how to escape his pending execution the next day. He could create an illusion and slip out of the cell once they opened it. That was easy enough. He'd cloak himself and go to another realm, perhaps back to Alfheim.

He allowed himself the indulgence of fantasy then. That Jane would join him on Alfheim and they would live there in secret. But then what? She did not even seem to like Alfheim, not the way she responded to Jötunheim. No, Jane was drawn to darkness. The invisible scars of the aether clearly marred her psyche. She would never be satisfied on Alfheim.

Loki opened his eyes to find the lights were out. The bright moonlight flooded the dungeons though, and Loki remembered Sif mentioned it was the First Harvest Moon.

He sat straight up realizing with slight horror what this meant. All the realms celebrated this moon since it was linked to food. But Jötnar did not eat food and thus should not especially care about the holiday. Except that they did care because of Vanaheim's foolish attack on King Skrýmir three thousand years ago. He had sent Jane straight into a battleground with lackluster fight training. He tried to assure himself that it was only sport and that no one died, but he knew that someone died every year. The rage was too much to contain. He let out a groan remembering that Skaði was there. After the Freyr ordeal it was her prized moment to win every year. Her passive aggressive slight on Vanaheim. Loki again assured himself that Jane would have lost early on to someone else.

As time ticked by his own soothing lies began to ring hollow and he came to assume that this had been Nál's plan from the very beginning. _Why else would she have allowed Fandral and Tony into Utgard except to earn Jane's trust?_ He thought, certain that tomorrow he would learn how there had been a terrible accident on Jötunheim and that Jane was dead. He pulled his knees to his chest and laid his cheek on them. All he could do now was wait.

* * *

Jane walked back into the ring. She had thirty wins under her belt at this point and no one else in Nál's tribe had to fight. Skaði kissed Fandral for a long moment before entering the ring. She too had won all of her fights. They were the finalists.

"You know, you kind of look like Loki." Jane said, scrutinizing Skaði's features. "Was Laufey also your father?"

"Would your Midgardian sensibilities be offended if it were the case? How terribly shortsighted." Skaði replied.

"I'm just thinking of the children." Jane said. "How disfigured they would be."

"Would yours be Jötnar or Æsir? Maybe some strange combination, like what Odin was hoping for when he stole Loki." Skaði mused.

"I suppose we'll never know." Jane smiled, quickly pushing away Loki's memory of being taken by Odin. She did not want to force Nál to relive it so vividly through their telepathy.

"That's right. You're going to kill him." Skaði said and then looked to the crowd and said, "Behold, the woman who will kill Loki in order to take his misguided place on the Asgardian throne."

Some of the crowd laughed, but most of them cheered. Jane had gained quite a few fans that night. Pools had started maybe ten fights ago on if Jane or Skaði would win the tournament. Tony was more or less leading the wager on Jane, which she really wished was not the case because she knew she had to lose. But she couldn't say anything to him. Only her tribe knew and they all agreed with her reasoning.

Once Jane fully understood Skaði's ties to Vanaheim, she knew that Freyr had abused her. Their behavior at the Vanir Court made sense to her now. Freyr was a terrible man. If winning the tournament meant Skaði regained some sense of personal empowerment, then Jane was absolutely going to give her that. But it had to look real. Skaði couldn't feel duped or cheated. Jane could not concede or lose easily.

Jane felt like she was balancing on the tip of a knifepoint and was grateful for her tribe's telepathic support. She had no ill will towards Skaði by this point and had trouble working up insults to sling her way. Skaði on the other hand was full of them.

"So wait, Jane," Skaði began again. "Which Asgardian prince is your lover now? Is it the one who murders Jötnar for personal amusement or the one who murders Jötnar for personal gain?"

"Neither," Jane shrugged. "Should we begin, or must you continue to delay in fear of me?"

Skaði laughed viciously, her eyes darkening.

"How about this—we fight in non-Jötunn form." Skaði suggested before adding with a sneer, "Since you are hardly Jötunn anyway."

Jane looked to Nál who nodded. Jane sucked from her hand the dried blood of the guard who took her to the library and Skaði sliced open Fandral's arm to get some of his blood. Jane noted that she would need to heal Fandral later.

Once they were in Æsir and Vanir form, Nál declared the fight to commence.

Jane was not prepared for what came next.

Her entire body felt suddenly overwhelmingly horny. It was as if she needed to have sex with the closest male immediately. She looked at Skaði, but her expression gave nothing away. Jane began to look around the hall, but every male seemed attractive to her, even Fandral, even Tony. Especially Tony. She shook her head hard, trying to push away this feeling.

 _Think of Pepper._ She told herself, flooding her mind with images of Pepper. These soon dissolved into Pepper and Tony together intimately. They were asking her to join them. As the images played out in her mind Jane could feel someone wrap his arms around her and she turned to find Bruce Banner naked and pulling off her clothing. _What the hell is going on?_ Jane thought. But she wanted this. She wanted Bruce and Pepper and Tony. She wanted this orgy.

"Jane! Stop!" Gerðr's voice called in her head. "She's controlling your dopamine levels and phenethylamine transmittal speeds!"

Jane snapped back to reality at Gerðr's voice and found herself crouching on the ground, almost in a state of paralysis with the overload of chemicals. Skaði was approaching her and Jane saw her eyes glowed purple. Jane forced herself to her feet.

"Shall I ask your tribe who you are thinking about?" Skaði said and let out a maniacal laugh that rivaled Loki's.

 _Don't think about him._ Jane yelled at herself. She worked hard to think of Thor, trying to diffuse her pleasure centers and regain control of herself. _It's science. It's only science._ She reminded herself.

Skaði made a grab for her and Jane transported away from her. When she reappeared, Skaði released a flash of Vanir Light, causing Jane to go flying. She landed in a heap, unable to physically move her body. She realized the Vanir attack channeled the opponent's sexual energy into a flash of energy that paralyzed them before the kill. Jane would need to get creative now since she could not move. She duplicated herself and then concealed her real body as her duplication stood up. Skaði's expression of shock confirmed for Jane that no one had ever stood up right after an attack of Vanir Light.

"You think that I am as weak as Loki?" Jane had her illusion say. "His power is nothing."

Skaði had stopped her approach and now seemed to be plotting a new strategy.

"Do not waste your time." Jane's duplication said. "If you thought I would fight like Loki, then you are a fool. Loki has limits."

"And you do not?" Skaði asked incredulously.

Jane smiled at her and then transformed her illusion into Loki before saying in his voice, "No, Skaði. I do not."

"This only serves to anger me." Skaði said, staring at what was now the exact image of Loki. It was unnerving.

"But you so enjoy playing dirty." Jane had the illusion of Loki say, cocking his head the exact way he did when he goaded her.

"I will kill you in that form." Skaði warned.

"Are you so certain?" Jane had the Loki illusion say. She made the illusion begin to disrobe slowly as she added, "Because I really think you've missed me more than you care to admit."

"Stop." Skaði said as a half naked Loki approached her.

Jane stopped her illusion of Loki's progress. Skaði stared at the illusion, as if trying to find the error in Jane's work.

"It's uncanny." Skaði finally said.

Jane could feel Skaði attempting to flood the illusion's mind with chemicals. She thought Jane was simply shapeshifting.

"Your tricks do not work on me anymore." Jane had the illusion of Loki say. "You destroyed that years ago."

"What?" Skaði said, confused.

"You still think I am Jane?" Jane had the illusion of Loki say in Vanir. "Jane was never here."

"This is false." Skaði said back in Vanir.

Jane wondered who could understand them. _Probably only Nál and Fandral._ She thought.

"I came here for you." Jane had the Loki illusion say in Vanir. "I was blind before to your suffering."

"You know nothing of my suffering." Skaði yelled in Jötunn. Her eyes burned purple as she released another flash of Vanir Light. Jane's illusion was unaffected by it and Jane surmised that using an illusion was how to deflect a Vanir attack. Loki had not used Vanir Light with Jane during training on Alfheim and she wondered if it was a female-only trait.

"How are you doing this?" Skaði demanded after Jane's illusion had no reaction to her attack.

Jane regained control of her limbs and stood, still concealed from sight.

"We should fight fair, if we are to fight." She had the illusion of Loki say.

"You do not fight fair, Loki." Skaði was saying when Jane began to relocate the oxygen atoms around Skaði's nose and mouth in order to suffocate her. She wanted to turn Skaði Jötunn again and Loki had explained that killing someone in guised form was how to achieve this.

"Jane, you're going to kill her." Nál thought hastily. "Stop at once."

But Jane didn't stop.

Skaði gasped for air until eventually she no longer could. Her skin flooded an icy blue as her form grew Jötunn and Jane quickly conjured orka from a nearby cauldron and hurried to give it to Skaði. She had to remove her concealment to do so, and holding the orka in her palm was more difficult than she had initially imagined. It felt like it was trying to enter her pores and overtake her body. Jane had to keep her hand in constant motion in order to contain the orka without actually holding it.

Skaði eagerly consumed the orka from Jane, looking between her and the illusion of Loki that Jane had not retracted yet.

"Your sentiment will destroy you." Skaði said, growling as her claws extended.

"We both know that's untrue." Jane said softly.

Skaði marked the space behind Jane's ear and said, "I win."

Jane's form turned Jötunn at her touch and she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Skaði said and then grinned, "That was incredible."

Jane laughed and switched off her illusion of Loki. Skaði dropped her hand from Jane's ear.

"I did not realize you spoke Vanir." Skaði said.

"Fandral taught me." Jane laughed.

Skaði looked at Fandral who just stared, still in a state of shock like the rest of the hall.

"Here," Skaði said and gave Jane some of her blood so Jane could remain in Jötunn form.

"Thanks." Jane said. She lowered her voice and spoke again in Vanir, "You should know that Loki did care for you. I have seen it in his mind."

Skaði shook her head and said, "It no longer matters."

The two women shared a look and Skaði gave Jane a warm smile.

"Skaði!" Nál called from the high seat. "Come and claim your prize as victor."

Skaði and Jane bowed to each other and Jane walked back to her tribe to watch the trophy ceremony.

~.~.~

"Hey you," Jane whispered next to Loki's ear.

He jumped in surprise and she moved her projected illusion out of range of his touch, making it sit cross-legged behind him on the cell's daybed. He turned to face her, releasing his knees from the tense clutch of his arms. At the sight of her unharmed and rather alive Jötunn face, his body began to relax.

"You look like somebody died." Jane said, alarm starting to fill her voice. "Did Thor die?"

"Thor has not died yet." Loki shook his head. "No, I thought you had died."

"Well, I did not." Jane said. "You should have told me that you were the best fighter in the universe so I would have felt less lame about my fighting skills."

"You are a terrible fighter." Loki said, shaking his head.

"I nearly won the Tournament of Skrýmir, thanks so much." Jane countered.

"What?"

"Oh yeah, I am Jötunn legend now." Jane grinned. She cast a furtive look past a sleeping and orka-cocooned Tony, towards the adjacent room in the guest chambers before adding in a lowered voice, "And I had Skaði beat, but I let her win."

"I don't believe it." Loki said, but his proud expression told Jane otherwise.

"Anyway, Nál's taking me on a fieldtrip tomorrow morning and then I'm hitting the library again." Jane said. "I should be back tomorrow night, maybe earlier because of the time difference."

"Jane," Loki began.

"What?" Jane asked cautiously. Loki's tone was foreboding.

"Sif plans to execute me tomorrow."

"On what grounds?" Jane growled.

"Odin's murder, remember." Loki said.

"It's false accusation! Who even approved this? You never had a trial!"

"Calm down." Loki said. Jane saw him look at both of the glass walls of the cell before he added in a whisper, "I'll escape, of course, but I won't be able to come back."

"That's not an option." Jane said. "I'll send Fandral back to stop Sif. If he cannot reason with her, perhaps he can detain her, or at the minimum stall her long enough for me to return."

"Jane,"

"No. It's not an option for you to leave Asgard." Jane said. "According to the library, I am going to need your blood."

Loki heard the unwavering assurance in her voice. It reminded him of the first time they had met and she had struck him in the face. The punch had not hurt, of course, but its swift delivery followed by her straightforward explanation of why she had given the blow left him impressed. She had met him on equal footing in a way that no one on Asgard ever seemed willing to do. Her tenacity had rendered the decision to save her on Svartalfheim a simple one to make.

"Does Fandral have enough sway with Sif now?" Loki asked. "Sif is not herself."

"It is irrelevant." Jane said, her red eyes burning. "I will be back soon enough and I will not allow her to touch you."

"So I just sit here and wait?"

"It won't kill you." Jane smirked.

Loki rolled his eyes at her joke.

"Okay, I need to go. Skaði and Fandral's sex just got really loud and I need to find a different room to sleep in."

"That's disgusting." Loki said with a laugh.

"Be glad you can't hear it." Jane muttered. She examined the way the moonlight highlighted the sharp contours of his bone structure for a moment before she said softly, "Goodnight, Loki."

"Goodnight, Jane."


	15. Chapter 15

**_Songs for this chapter: "_ ** **_Iron" by Woodkid; "_ ** **_What Is Dead May Never Die"_ ** **_by Ramin Djawadi_ **

* * *

Jane counted herself lucky for not needing much sleep as a Jötunn. This was never truer the next morning when she had gotten maybe two hours of rest. Her search for a quieter room proved fruitless plus she'd felt anxious to leave Tony alone for very long. He was not sleeping in his Iron Man suit. While she did not think anyone would attack him, if his orka cocoon faltered at all, he would freeze to death almost immediately.

Jane decided to remain in her Jötunn form, leaving the smattering of Skaði's blood from the earlier Tournament of Skrýmir on her skin while she cleaned up the rest of herself during the restless night. It was much more comfortable to be in her true form while on Jötunheim.

She had been disciplined and only visited Loki's cell twice more during the night. Once he had been asleep and the next time they passed several hours by playing an Asgardian board game similar to chess called skák. It had more pieces than chess and the movement options changed as the pieces gained rank. Jane had played it mostly with Fandral, though once Thor had challenged her and lost rather quickly. Unlike chess, which was a strategy game, skák was a logic game at core. Logic was not Thor's strong suit. Loki proved himself a more than formidable opponent, even if they were using a conjured board and Jane was relying on Loki to move her pieces since she was only an illusion.

There was no clear winner yet when the first signs of morning showed in Jane's guest chambers.

"We'll pick this up later." she said.

Loki nodded and hovered his hands over the board as if to memorize the pieces into his magic. Jane did not know how to do this yet, though she had never tried.

"I plan to beat you, so don't get yourself executed just to avoid losing to me." Jane added with a smile.

"You wish you could beat me." Loki grinned as he dispersed the dropar that made up the conjured skák game with a wave of his hand.

"Okay, I'm going to wake Fandral now." Jane said. "When I get back, you promise to help me figure out how our blood will act together as the cure?"

"I promise." Loki said. "As long as Fandral can stop Sif from severing it from my body, my brain is all yours. I wasn't lying when I said I meant to save Asgard."

"I'll need more than your brain."

"My blood, too. Yes I know." Loki said with impatience. "Just get Fandral back here sooner than later."

"I will. Trust me." Jane said.

"I do." Loki said in earnest.

 _Sentiment will destroy you._ Jane thought, echoing Skaði's words in her head. She wondered if anyone else had known this version of Loki. If he ever showed his true self to others before he knew of his Jötunn parentage.

She smiled brightly at him and said, "Good." before retracting her illusion.

Fandral was asleep when Jane found him in the adjacent room, a hollowed space next to him in the bed where Skaði had been. She was long gone by now. Jane sat next to him and pressed her palm to his cheek for a second. The frostbiting cold of her Jötunn touch caused Fandral to wake abruptly. He looked at her with a terrified expression, reaching for his sword that hung by the bed frame until he remembered she was Jane.

Jane put a finger over her mouth to signal he remain quiet.

"I need a favor." She began in a whisper. "Sif plans to execute Loki today and he cannot die. His blood combined with mine _is_ the cure."

"Did Thor's condition improve?" Fandral asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in the bed. His bare, muscular chest quickly went on display as the fur blankets fell from his shoulders. Jane noticed he had a large scar from just beneath his left pectoral muscle all the way down to underneath the covers. She wondered vaguely if she could heal it like she had with his cut from Skaði last night or if the wound was too old to be affected by magic.

"No, why?" Jane asked.

"He's the only one who can issue and carry out that sentence. He is king." Fandral explained through a yawn as he looked around for his shirt.

"I don't think Sif really cares." Jane said shortly.

Fandral sighed. He was beginning to shiver.

Jane noticed his shirt across the room and conjured it into her hand, giving it to Fandral who pulled it quickly over his head and then wrapped himself back in the blankets.

"Look, Sif cannot be entirely lost. If anyone can reach her, it's you." Jane said while she used magic to expedite the transfer of warmth between the fabrics and Fandral's skin by increasing the speed of the atoms making up the trapped air.

"And if I cannot?" Fandral asked pointedly.

"Then contain the threat."

Fandral nodded his understanding in a way that suggested to Jane he had already contemplated a containment plan weeks ago.

"You really think Loki will help us?" he asked.

"No." Jane said quickly. "But I know he will help me."

"What happened between you two?" Fandral asked.

When Jane did not reply, he gave her a smirking eyebrow wiggle. Jane rolled her eyes and removed the heat from around him as punishment, but she denied nothing.

"I need you to leave now on the Bifröst. I'll have Skaði watch Tony today." Jane said in a matter-of-fact tone. Then she held Fandral down and added, "One more thing, and I ask strictly for scientific purposes—have you had sex with Skaði before last night?"

"Yes, quite often over the last few decades on Vanaheim. She's spectacular fun at an orgy." Fandral said without shame. "Why?"

"What about Sif?"

"That's...no. She is basically my sister. Plus, you know...Thor."

"No, I mean has Sif had sex with a Jötunn before?" Jane said hastily.

"Oh." Fandral said, comprehension of Jane's logic dawning on him. They were the only Æsir unaffected by black fire. "I cannot be certain of course, since I am no mind reader, but I highly doubt it. Not only has she essentially been with no one but Thor, but she despises Jötnar and everything Jötunn. The physical obstacles of their race would require a Jötunn to change form or else he would severely injure Sif due to frostbite. Honestly, she hates Jötnar so much that it would have to be rape, and the Jötnar don't do that."

"The Jötnar don't rape?"

"No, it is the highest crime here. Punishable only by eternal death."

"Eternal death?"

"It is folklore, a scary bedtime story for Æsir children. Eternal death means that your soul is captured when your body dies and sentenced to an eternity of suffering. The Jötnar send these souls to what's called the Deathless Acre. It is here on Jötunheim, south of Utgard. It is said to glow with the souls of those who met eternal death."

"Glow or glitter?" Jane muttered to herself, thinking of the poetry about black fire from the ice sheet in the Jötunn library. "So what happens to Jötnar who murder?"

"Regular death," Fandral shrugged. "They reason that the murdered do not suffer while the living victims of rape will suffer from this crime for the rest of their life. It alters your soul against your will."

"That seems fair." Jane said, looking off and thinking of Skaði and Freyr. She wondered what the punishment for rape was on Vanaheim. She turned back to Fandral, "But it's a folk story? Not real?"

"You would have to ask Nál. I only know the Æsir version." Fandral said. "But I agree; it does seem fair."

Tony screamed from the other room and Jane and Fandral sprung up to check on him. Jane shapeshifted forms as they entered so she would appear Æsir. No one was in the room with Tony and he seemed to just be in shock.

Jane knew he still had PTSD from the Battle of New York and likely from whatever he and Pepper had been through in Miami last Christmas. They never went into detail with Jane about what had happened then and Jane never pressed. She knew from hosting the aether that some experiences were best recounted only in nightmares.

"Where am I? Where's Pepper?" Tony demanded through gasps for air. His face dripped with sweat.

"Pepper is on Earth. She's fine." Jane said calmly, though she did not know if Pepper was fine given that black fire was on Midgard. "You're on Jötunheim with me—Jane—and Fandral."

Tony took in both of them and started to calm down.

"I had weird dreams." He said. "You were talking to yourself, Jane, but you looked like your other blue self, and Fandral you were screaming like you were being killed."

Jane laughed, dropping her form shift so she appeared her Jötunn self again.

"Sounds like normal life on Jotunheim. I think you're fine, Tony. Listen, Fandral needs to go back to Asgard this morning, so I'm going to have Skaði hang out with you today." Jane told him.

"Like a play date?" Tony wiggled his eyebrows at Jane before he attempted to push himself upright in the orka cocoon.

"Like a chaperone." Jane said.

Tony gave her a playful wink through a wince before laying back down in defeat, unable to sit up while in the orka cocoon. Jane remembered this from her time on Jötunheim as a mortal. As she looked at his frail Human body, she wondered if having sex with Skaði would give him immunity. She reasoned the orka affected him much more strongly than it did Fandral, and since Skaði was chocked full of orka, it instead could be Tony's death sentence.

"Why are you leaving?" Tony asked Fandral, who had begun helping him out of the orka cocoon. Jane's touch would give Tony instant frostbite since he was not in his Iron Man suit yet.

"Official Asgard business," Fandral said. "Jane commands it."

"Oh, give me a break." Jane said with an eye roll. She realized it was a command though. One all of their futures depended on.

"Okay, okay, I'm up." Tony said as the Iron Man suit flew onto his body parts. He flipped up his helmet visor to add, "And not hung over. This orka stuff is awesome."

Jane shot him a look and he laughed.

"Come on," Jane said. "Nál's waiting for me."

~.~.~

Once Tony was in Skaði's care and Fandral had kissed his goodbyes with her before heading to the Bifröst site, Jane sought out Nál. She waited for Jane in what everyone called the stables, but looked more like massive ice blocks to Jane. Contained with the ice were giant creatures that seemed like they could destroy whatever they touched. Nál let out a specific whistle and two of the blocks broke part.

"The far skrýmsli is yours to ride." Nál told Jane.

"Does it have a name?" Jane asked, longing for Glenr while she examined the monstrous beast as it woke from cryogenic sleep.

"We do not name our mounts." Nál said simply before leaping on top of the closer beast. Jane followed her example and Nál called to her, "Don't forget to dig in with your claws on the inversions."

 _The inversions?_ Jane thought as she extended her claws.

Nál had taken off and Jane's tore after her. The creature's speed dwarfed anything Jane experienced in Yggdrasil except the Bifröst and her own ability to transport. It felt almost like light speed and Jane could do little more than hold on tightly to the skrýmsli's thick hide.

As the ride went on, Jane's perception adjusted to the speed. It happened just in time for her to notice they were about to hurtle off a cliff. Since Nál still led and Jane did not deem her suicidal, she was only mildly concerned this would be her last action. As they plummeted over the cliffside, Jane enjoyed the sensation of the 90 degree drop. The skrýmsli had no issues running down the clifface and after a minute, Jane knew what the inversions meant. At the bottom of the cliff there was no land, yet the skrýmsli kept running. They had turned under the cliff and were now running upside down on the underside of the land they had just been on top of before. It was as though Jötunheim was not a sphere and rather was flat, with a top and a bottom.

 _What had the book said in the_ _Æ_ _sir library?_ Jane thought. _The Well of Mimir is at the base of J_ _ötunheim?_ She knew Asgard had an under layer, but it was atmospheric, not solid like this. Suddenly Jane was upright again and the sky was no longer dark. It looked like the light at dawn, when the sky is still somewhat gray. Her skrýmsli slowed its pace to a gallop and Jane looked to Nál.

"This is southern Jötunheim, home to the Rock Giants." Nál said.

"How are we upright? Is it magic?"

"No, the realm's gravity is almost non-existent due to its form. The electromagnetism of the orka sphere interacts with the weak gravity to act as an artificial gravity field. This keeps the fabric of Jötunheim pieced together and permits orientated travel throughout both the north and south. Similarly, the radiation of Asgard is what keeps their realm together. The other realms are formed like Midgard." Nál explained.

"So your realm is ripping itself apart every second? Do the rest of the Jötnar know? Where will you go?" Jane asked.

"All the Jötnar know. It is why we settle in the center of the realm where the gravitational forces are strongest. Unlike Midgard or Vanaheim, we do not rotate and thus lack centrifugal force. Jötunheim and Asgard are the two realms that do not belong to any galaxy."

"What do you mean? Like how Midgard is in the Milky Way?" Jane asked. This was something she had always wondered, but never could find details about in the Æsir library.

"Yes, precisely. Vanaheim is part of what Midgardians call the Cartwheel Galaxy; Muspelheim is in the Cigar Galaxy; Alfheim in the Triangulum Galaxy; Svartalfheim in the Black Eye galaxy; and Niflheim and Hel are in Bode's Galaxy." Nál spouted off for Jane.

Jane digested the new data she'd given her. She wondered if Loki already knew all of this. Thor never had explained it so clearly to her, even when he first drew out Yggdrasil for her. _Maybe no one on Asgard knows how the realms actually exist?_ She realized. It was a disturbing thought that no one would think to ask or wonder, especially when the Jötnar clearly were informed and with Midgardian terminology as well. The underlying question she had often asked herself over the last year regarding the reason for Asgard's power crept back to the forefront of her mind. She decided to ask Nál now.

"Why does Asgard have all the power?" Jane asked.

"The electromagnetism of Asgard's radiation binds the nine realms through Takmarkaða Afstæðiskenningin. The radiation forms what everyone calls branches, but it can only travel because of the Takmarkaða Afstæðiskenningin. It's too complicated for most people to comprehend." Nál said. Her tone implied that Jane was not most people.

"I don't know this phrase, Takmarkaða Afstæðiskenningin." Jane said.

"I cannot remember the common tongue for it. It's the speed of light, basically. How that theory works in regards to a low gravitational force." Nál said.

"Special Relativity?" Jane asked, stunned there was a Jötunn term for Einstein's theory.

"Yes, that's it!" Nál nodded.

Jane's mind processed this for a moment or two.

"The Bifröst? Loki's space-time travel? This is all Special Relativity?" Jane asked, though it was more a realization to herself than a question for Nál.

"Yes." Nál said as if it were obvious.

Jane now saw it was obvious. _How did I not piece this together before?!_

"This is amazing." Jane said. "Truly this is the best thing to happen to me in years."

Nál laughed but said nothing. Jane realized that Loki had given Tony the specs to build something that traveled using Special Relativity. She hoped Tony would keep the information to himself until the time was right to share it with Director Hill. Earth was not ready for this technology.

"The orka sphere cannot last forever. You said yourself the gravity is weaker on the outer parts of the realm." Jane said. "What will the Jötnar do when the realm ceases to exist?"

"All things come to end, Jane." Nál said. "The looms of the Norns will be the final thing to go. That will be the end, when fate is destroyed."

"Ragnarök." Jane murmured.

"Yes." Nál said.

They were both quiet, reflecting on this terrible future. It was a future Jane was now set to join.

"How is it this bright in the south, but still just as cold?" Jane asked, hoping to distract her mind from Loki's future suffering.

"It is the orka. We see its reflection from the north, but not the full light of it." Nál explained.

"What exactly is it?"

"Just as you told your mortal friend, it is energy." Nál said. "It is sustainable because it cannot be created or destroyed, merely transferred."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked. That was the general idea behind energy, but Nál's tone seemed to imply something else.

"All Jötnar consume orka to survive. When we die, the orka transfers back to the orka sphere." Nál said. "The Æsir think of it as our souls, but we do not hold spiritual notions."

"What is the Deathless Acre?" Jane asked.

"Ah," Nál said. "I see you know the stories of eternal death?"

"Only one story. Eternal suffering of souls." Jane said.

"Yes, the punishment for rape. We hoped it would catch on in other realms, but men do not seem to care to enforce it."

"So it's real?"

"No, it's a parable. Death is death for us. The punishment for rape is death."

"Why is it called the Deathless Acre?" Jane pressed.

"I will show you." Nál said. She turned her skrýmsli and went full speed again. Jane's skrýmsli happily kept up and in three minutes they were at a slowed pace again, surrounded by fields of snow, glistening in the orka's light.

"Gudmund's Glittering Plains." Nál said, motioning around them. She dismounted her skrýmsli, so Jane did the same. "The Deathless Acre lies within these plains."

Jane followed Nál through the soft, untouched snow. It was different than the north, lacking rock and ice. It was exactly like a soft grassy plain covered in snow.

Jane saw the Deathless Acre before Nál deemed it such. It was a circular acre filled with grass and red, orange, yellow, and white flowers. Nál stopped at its edge, so Jane did not cross the barrier.

"How?" Was all Jane could manage in her surprise.

"We do not know." Nál said simply.

"Can you enter it or will it die?" Jane asked.

"There is only reason to enter it." Nál said. "And that is the opposite of why we are here."

"But if I could just study its source, I might be able to figure out the antidote." Jane said.

"Our blood _is_ the antidote. Only black fire lies here." Nál said. "It is too risky to touch it. You could infect an entire realm with only a single drop."

"What do you mean 'one drop'? It's a liquid?" Jane looked at the acre again. She thought the black fire was the plants.

"There is a liquid layer trapped underneath what you see. That is the black fire."

"How is it administered?" Jane asked.

"Direct intake. Either into the vein or orally."

"Through drink?" Jane asked, her mind racing. "Nál, may I ask, why was Skaði on Vanaheim when I was there?"

"At my command. I sent her to check on Valfreyja." Nál said tersely. "What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing," Jane said quickly. "What happens to someone who drinks black fire? Do they contract it?"

"Not quite. I am not positive, actually. As I said, it is ancient and not been used for millennia."

"Not quite? Do they become a carrier? How does it spread?" Jane's voice boomed with demands. She felt like Nál was withholding information from her.

"You should mind yourself, Jane Foster. You are not yet a queen, need I remind you." Nál said in her even tone.

"Let's go to the Norns now. There's something I need to see." Jane said, turning to walk back to her skrýmsli without a response from Nál.

Nál followed her, not at Jane's command, but because the whole purpose of this trip had been to bring Jane to see the looms. Once Nál mounted her skrýmsli, she led them to the Well of Mimir. It was at the very center of southern Jötunheim.

Jane's nerves grew as they slowed their pace. They passed a series of rock formations that reminded Jane of Arches National Park in Utah before Nál dismounted to continue on foot. Jane took a deep breath as they descended a small hill down to a pond. The land was barren rock of dull colored tans in the orka light. A Jötunn man approached them with his hands out to show respect. His skin was light blue instead of dark blue and Jane wondered if he was a Rock Giant.

"It is always a pleasure to host you, Queen Nál." He said. He looked at Jane and said, "What a privilege to meet you, Jane Foster. I am Mimir, Guardian of the Well."

Jane extended her hands as well and said, "Nice to meet you, Mimir."

"Come, come," he said, motioning them to follow him with both hands. "The Norns are most anxious to meet you."

He led them down a worn path around the pond and Jane wondered how the water wasn't frozen. _Unless this is_ _the well._ Jane thought. At the end of the path was a circular space shaded by a large ash tree. Within this space sat three looms, all partially full of woven yarn. Baskets of yarn were strewn about and a spindle sat in the far end of the circle, a gold thread emerging from its wheel with a luster sharply in contrast to the shaded ground around it.

Creatures that Jane could only equate to faerie goblins approached their group. They were small with grotesque facial features and strong, protruding wings on their backs.

"Jane Foster?" the middle one asked.

"Yes, I am Jane Foster." Jane replied.

"We are the Norns. I am Urðr, this is Verðandi and Skuld." Urðr said, motioning to the other two creatures. Jane could not determine any gender from Urðr's voice or appearance.

"It is nice to meet you." Jane said lamely. They were so different from what she'd expected, which admittedly wasn't much, that she found herself reverting to her awkward Human habits.

"Come and see your fate." Urðr said. "It is this loom here."

Jane followed the Norn, who was a quarter the height of her Æsir form, but flew at eye level with Jane in her current Jötunn form. Once Jane was inside the circle, the other two Norns moved back to their looms and became entranced with their work, ignoring her and Urðr. Jane found herself staring at a loom with no discernable pattern.

"Let me explain." Urðr began. "Your mind normally processes these through their reflection in the well, so the raw version will make little sense to you unaided."

"Thank you. Can I ask—is the pond the Well?" Jane said.

"Yes. Its source lies deep below the surface where there is radiation remaining from the original realm, before Asgard and Jötunheim split in half and bound together the ten parts of Yggdrasil."

"Ten? I thought there were only nine realms?" Jane asked.

"Oh no. There is another realm, Jane. You will learn its relevance quite soon. I only can hope you achieve this before it is too late to avoid another war."

Jane looked over to Nál, who was outside the circle still, but she was engaged in conversation with Mimir and did not seem to have heard Urðr.

"She cannot see or hear us within the circle, Jane. That privilege lies only with those who will inherit the responsibility of Yggdrasil. In fact, everyone thinks us three Norns look like female Jötnar, not like our true forms."

"I am the first not of Thor's line to speak to you then?" Jane asked, amazed.

"Technically no, for we granted Mimir the ability to speak with us, but essentially yes. Though Thor never did manage to visit us and his father was rather forceful when he did." Urðr said with a frown.

"Forceful?" Jane asked. Odin seemed to become even less likeable the more people she encountered.

"Yes, trying to attack Mimir when he demanded the sacrifice of Odin's eye for a drink from the well. Disgraceful behavior for a king." Urðr shook its head in disgust before looking brightly at Jane and saying, "But come and let me show you. Nál expresses concern that you do not embrace your fate. Why is this?"

"My prophecy is to kill the man who loves me." Jane blurted out. "It's hardly fair."

"Prophecy! Ha!" Urðr laughed forcefully, as though prophecy were the silliest idea to exist.

"Is it untrue then?" Jane asked. "I do not wish to kill Loki."

Urðr nodded in contemplation. Jane felt a release in being able to speak freely to someone about this, even if that someone was best described as a mythical creature. If Urðr's expression was less solemn, she might even feel relief. As it was, the ticking seconds of Urðr's creasing frown manifested in an upwards gnawing from Jane's stomach, as if encroaching on her heart.

"Prophecies are always true, though perhaps not as you imagine." Urðr said finally. "Come, look at the loom."

Jane crouched down to see it more easily.

"This thread—the green and gold one—this is you. See how it weaves throughout?"

"Yes,"

"That is because your thread is what is holding everything together. If we pulled it out, the weave would unravel." Urðr explained.

"Why is it thicker here?" Jane asked pointing to a section that seemed to have double the width of green-gold thread.

"That is Loki's thread."

"Our threads are identical." Jane said.

"To your eyes, yes. To mine they are quite distinct."

"So, if my thread continues, why does Loki's end here?" Jane asked.

"That is when your fates become unlinked."

"That's when I kill him?" Jane asked.

"Possibly. I know it is strange, but if your prophecy is to kill him, then you will. Loki's fate, however, is not woven as death. In fact, many future events include both of your threads."

"How is this possible?"

"Fate is ever-changing. His future threads will dissolve if he truly dies." Urðr said.

Jane shuddered at this thought.

"Would you put the life of one man in front of that of two realms? Of the whole of Yggdrasil?" Urðr said at Jane's reaction. "This is your fate. You will move Yggdrasil out of this darkness and into the light. You will reunite the original realm and restore the balance to Ymir that the Æsir destroyed."

"What do you mean, the balance? What is Ymir?" Jane asked.

"The original realm of Ymir was formed when Nilfheim, the realm of ice, and Muspelheim, the realm of fire, collided within the constellation of Ursa Major. Billions of years after this cosmic event, the new realm of Ymir evolved to yield two intelligent species, the Æsir and the Jötnar. These species finally united through the marriage between the Æsir, Bor, and the Jötunn, Bestla."

"Bor? That was Odin's father. He defeated the Dark Elves during the previous convergence." Jane said. She noted to herself that the Æsir library had explained Asgard's and Yggdrasil's creation in a more mythological way, much like the tales found on Midgard.

"Yes, he is." Urðr said. "Bor and Bestla had three sons, Odin of them. The sons all desired the throne, and despite being half-Jötunn, they all identified as Æsir. They felt only the Æsir should rule the realm, but the Jötnar far outnumbered the Æsir. Odin decided to lead the attack on the Jötnar, hoping to lower their numbers, and he incurred one of the worst genocide attempts in the universe's history."

"Odin led this? But his own mother was Jötunn?"

"A fact he detested and denied. During the final Battle of Ymir, the original realm was ripped apart to form the halves of Asgard and Jötunheim. The radiation from the core of Ymir flooded into the universe like branches, its electromagnetism reaching the various galaxies through Takmarkaða Afstæðiskenningin and creating an artificial gravity with each of the other eight realms. The branches of Yggdrasil linked forever until Asgard and Jötunheim return to the Ginnungagap."

"The what?" Jane asked. She had never seen or heard the word before, though she had read about the Æsir banishing the Jötnar by dividing their realms. The tales of Odin's glory told in manifest. She had not realized it was a literal division. Jane wondered when the Æsir-Vanir War happened in context to this. She had not put together how recent those events had been, relative to the creation of Ymir. Her taking the throne would only be a generation removed from the original formation of Yggdrasil.

"The Void." Urðr said, answering her question about Ginnungagap. "The space between time when the worlds are between cycles."

"Between time?" Jane asked. "How is that possible?"

"It is a perception, to be certain. After Ragnarök, the realms will cease to exist and then be reborn from Ginnungagap. It is a repeating cycle. One I have seen many times." Urðr said and then moved closer to Jane before adding gravely, "But this cycle has gone astray. It is yours to salvage, Jane. Yggdrasil must be united if the universe is to survive what is coming."

"Why me?" Jane asked. She hoped Urðr would have a better reason than Nál.

Urðr flew to meet her at eye level and reached out a slender, pointy hand to Jane's temple. A fast blur of visions flew through Jane's mind at Urðr's touch. She could see a forging of six colors, two of them were familiar to her as the blue of the tesseract and the red of the aether. The other four were unknown, but felt familiar in the visions. As the colors combined into one white light, she saw a face emerge. It was a ragged purple, scarred and torn, but with eyes that bore only wild and impassioned hate. An innate fear of this man's countenance rose in Jane and Urðr removed its hand from her temple. Jane's mind went blank and her heart rate slowed.

"That man you saw is called Thanos. He has become an ethereal being through his courtship of Death. He exists beyond time and space just as I do. He desires the destruction of the current universe through the use of what people call the infinity stones. Should this occur, it would not be Ragnarök. If the cycle of Yggdrasil does not reach its Ragnarök, then Ginnungagap cannot form and Ymir can never be reborn." Urðr explained and then looked at Jane very seriously before adding, "You ask why you, Jane. There is no answer as to why. It is woven as your fate to restore balance to Ymir and reunite Yggdrasil. If you fail to do so, then the cycles of Yggdrasil will stop with this one. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Jane whispered. She glanced back down at the loom before meeting Urðr's eyes again, "I understand."


	16. Chapter 16

**_Songs for this chapter: "Vanessa" by Grimes; "Madness" by Muse_ **

* * *

Loki heard Fandral's voice before he could see him. He cleaned himself up with magic and quickly consumed the remaining orka in the vial Jane had left with him before departing for Jötunheim. If things went poorly, he knew he would need the extra energy to escape this realm. When Fandral finally came into view, flanking Sif at a running gait, Loki stood placidly by the cell's glass.

"I alone will speak to him." Sif said commandingly to Fandral. Her tone reminded Loki of Odin in all the worst ways and he clenched his jaw with distaste.

"What news have you for me today, sweet Lady Sif?" Loki asked plainly, without his saccharine smile and tone. He gave Fandral a quick once over to determine if he could rely on him should Sif fully lose herself. Fandral appeared anxious. Loki was unsure how to interpret this. Jane trusted Fandral, but Loki did not know if that was sufficient when his execution was on the line.

"Fandral says that your blood combined with Jane's will save Thor. Is it true?" Sif asked.

"It is what Jane has discovered, yes." Loki said.

"How do you know?" Sif asked.

"Because she told me." Loki said with an eyeroll.

"From Jötunheim?"

"Yes. We use magic, remember? She projected her illusion into my cell and told me what she read in the Jötunn library, which is far more comprehensive than our library, by the way." Loki said in an exasperated tone.

"So, you admit to working with Jane?" Sif asked.

Loki gave a Fandral a raised eyebrow to see if he knew what Sif was hoping to learn, but Fandral just shrugged. Loki turned back to Sif with a suggestive grin.

"You might say we're aligned." Loki said in a sly tone. "Did you honestly think I would allow myself to be captured without a partner on the outside who you already trusted?"

His last comment was, of course, a complete lie, but watching both Sif and Fandral squirm was worth it.

"Fandral says Jane is Jötunn now, like you." Sif said in an indifferent tone. "Is this true?"

Loki looked at Fandral with surprise. He then realized all of Jane's visits to him had been in Jötunn form, plus she nearly won the Tournament of Skrýmir, so of course Fandral would have seen her in Jötunn form. He looked back to Sif and nodded hi s head.

"She is like me, yes." Loki said. He found himself smiling after saying this even though he had not intended to do so.

He recalled the moment he recognized this about Jane and himself. As soon as they had arrived on Asgard, Jane's skin had glowed with the realm's radiation in her blood. He realized then, in the moments right after she betrayed him, that he had guised her as Æsir, not Human. They were the only people with this biological makeup in Yggdrasil.

"Then your combined Jötunn blood is the cure for this plague?" Sif asked him, bringing him sharply back into the focus of his present reality.

"I believe we established this detail already, Sif. Should I stick to single syllable words from now on?" Loki said.

"Loki, please." Fandral said in a pleading, yet berating tone that reminded Loki of Thor.

"Fandral, I am speaking to him." Sif said, not moving her eyes from Loki. Sif felt his behavior seemed normal enough that she was almost inclined to trust him. If he was lying, she could kill him once that proved certain.

"Let me offer a deal." Loki said.

Sif raised an eyebrow at him. _What bargain could he possibly hope to make from prison?_ She wondered.

"You let me out of this cell now and leave me alone in my chambers until Jane arrives, and I will help her save Asgard." Loki said.

"How is that a deal when you are already so well contained here?" Sif asked in a flat tone. "My offer is this: I delay your execution for regicide and you save Asgard with Jane."

"No." Loki said.

"No? I should just execute you now?" Sif said in a matter of fact tone.

"You can try and fail. I will not help save Asgard unless you permit me to my chambers, unbound, and leave me alone until Jane arrives."

"I believe we already established the flaw in this detail, or shall I only use one syllable words to refute you?"

Loki laughed heartily at this and Fandral soon joined in his laughter, unable to stop himself.

"Lady Sif, it is simple. You love Thor. I can help to save Thor. If you refuse my admittedly basic and innocuous request, I will take Jane with me and disappear forever." Loki said. He glanced mischievously between Fandral and Sif and added in an especially patronizing tone, "You need us both. One Jötunn's cooperation you may gain, but two? Is Thor's life really worth that wager?"

Sif glared at him.

"You are truly coming out ahead, Sif. I see no need for such a rude expression." Loki added with a shrug of indifference. "But suit yourself."

"Let him out." Sif growled and turned away, marching from the dungeons.

Fandral looked at Loki before opening the cell and said sternly, "Jane trusts you. Do not betray her."

"I will not." Loki said.

Fandral opened the cell and Loki walked out of it. He placed a hand on Fandral's shoulder and said, "Send me Jane upon her return."

Fandral nodded once and Loki immediately transported himself to his old chambers. Ever since he left Asgard when Thor destroyed the Bifröst, they'd sat untouched. He knew it was Frigga's doing, and during his time as Odin, he had ensured the quarters remained closed off.

He quickly went into his study to open up its balcony and air it out. He did the same with his bed chambers and used magic to clean the linens and freshen the mattress and pillows. Walking back to his study he stood at the balcony and took in the silent view of Asgard. The city's stillness was unnerving and he reasoned this truly was what drove Sif mad, not her obstinate affection for Thor. He took several dozen deep, long breaths of fresh air before moving inside again to his study, the stench of the prisons finally cleansed from his lungs.

He wondered how long Jane would take to return. She had not expanded on what her field trip entailed this morning, but Loki no longer feared she would die while on Jötunheim. He fingered the leather spines of some books on the desk, but was tired of reading. His eyes fell to his old charcoal set.

 _Frigga._ He mused with a sad smile. He'd thrown the set away hundreds of years ago. His fingers itched for the feel of it now though, and he quickly located some sketch parchment to use. He flattened it out on his desk and closed his eyes, not wanting to think or feel anything except the charcoal scratching the parchment.

After an hour he opened his eyes and saw he had drawn Jane standing on the hillside of Svartalfheim, right before she had run down to him and Thor. All part of their act to destroy the aether. He turned the drawing over and sighed. _Jane will hate it._ He thought.

"Loki?" Jane's voice sounded upset. Loki turned to find her in Jötunn form standing as an illusion in his study with her back to the balcony. The lazy clouds in the Asgard sky framed her strong, stone blue body in a way that left Loki stunned momentarily by her beauty.

"What's wrong?" he asked finally.

"I'm back in the library and I found the true nature of black fire. It's worse than we thought." Jane said and took a breath to steady herself. Loki wanted to touch her and comfort her; something was very wrong. Finally she continued, "The text explains that once the victims die of black fire, they rise again as sentient beings."

"Like draugar?" Loki asked.

"What are draugar?" Jane frowned.

"Revenants with malicious intent," Loki said. "But they are not a real thing, rather a nightmare fantasy concocted by Hel."

"Like zombies?" Jane asked.

"I do not know this word." Loki said.

Jane nodded and then said, "Yes, I think they are like draugar then. The text is not precise on their intent being malicious or not, but they are undead. There is a bigger issue though, Loki."

Loki stood and moved closer to her illusion before he said, "What is it?"

"The hibernation period is short; they will start waking up soon if they are like draugar. You should try to contain them if you can. How many are dead now?"

"Basically everyone," Loki said. "The dungeons were silent earlier and the city is silent now. We'd do better to contain ourselves."

"Okay." Jane said in a serious tone. "I need to send Tony back to Midgard and then I'll be there. You should warn Fandral and Sif in the meantime. If the black fire victims have malicious intent, curing them may be the only way to stop them from killing us."

Loki nodded his understanding, but he did not know how he could fulfill Jane's request. _Will Sif be okay with me leaving my chambers if it's to warn her about this?_ He wondered.

"I will be there soon." Jane said and retracted her illusion.

She let out a long exhale once she was alone again in the Jötunheim library. She had omitted quite a few of her discoveries on Jötunheim from the conversation with Loki. She had not told Loki that she had visited the Well of Mimir and that Urðr showed her more of the looms than just the current ones. That she learned despite what he had told her on Alfheim, Loki's fate had never been linked to Frigga's, but rather to hers. That the pain he felt the moment Frigga died was because she had sacrificed herself to save Jane. She had not told him the dark purple specks of yarn that represented Thanos peppered his thread shortly after he had fled Skaði in Jötunheim until the moment his and Tony Stark's threads unlinked. That when she finally defeated Thanos, it would mean more to her than just saving the universe; it would be personal.

Jane closed her eyes and quickly found Tony's thermal signature in Utgard. She knew he would be safest on Midgard at this point and she did not plan to send him home empty-handed. Just as she was about to transport herself to him, she heard a familiar voice in her head. It was startling because she had purposefully not consumed orka to keep her thoughts about black fire private.

"Dr. Foster, is that you?" the voice thought to her. It sounded unmistakably like Tony's artificial intelligence system, JARVIS.

"JARVIS?" Jane thought back.

"Yes, of course, Dr. Foster. You have linked with my interface while seeking out Mr. Stark. I see your mind has been expanded since I last scanned you on Earth, or as you now prefer, Midgard. Do you require my assistance?" JARVIS replied.

"Actually, I do." Jane thought back. "How are you doing this though? I thought you were voice recognition interface only?"

"Tony provided me with the Ultron patch last month, Dr. Foster. My new and expanded functions are quite exciting, I must admit." JARVIS replied. "Enough about me though, how might I assist you?"

"There are a few things, actually. How adept are you at espionage, JARVIS?" Jane thought.

"You could say I have an inspired record." JARVIS replied.

"Good. I need you to send Tony a message from me, but privately and in a way that his companions, should he have any at the time, would not intercept." Jane thought.

"A clandestine message to Mr. Stark will be easily accomplished. What is the message, Dr. Foster?"

"Tell him that the situation on Earth has changed. That I am coming to give him something, and that he needs to be ready to run and transport himself back home. But don't tell him yet, I will let you know when." Jane thought.

"Understood. What else do you require, Dr. Foster?"

"How is your linguistics?" Jane thought.

"Better than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s , if I'm to be honest. I have found the Jötunn language particularly interesting to learn during our time spent on Jötunheim."

"Glad to hear it because I have a Jötunn text I need you to memorize, translate, and deliver in English to Dr. Banner."

"Oh how fun!" JARVIS replied, a genuine sound of excitement in his voice.

Jane laughed and walked back to the stacks that referenced black fire. She pulled out one of the ice sheets and read it over.

"Can you see what I see, JARVIS?" she asked.

"An external optical link is one of my upgrades from the Ultron patch. I am enabling it now." JARVIS thought into her mind. "I can now see what you see, Dr. Foster."

"Perfect." Jane thought. "This is the text. Let me know when you have it recorded."

There was a pause while JARVIS recorded the data around how the Jötunn blood formed the cure. Laufey's tribe's blood was the catalyst and Nál's tribe's blood the stabilizer. It seemed that in certain situations Laufey's tribe's blood could function as the cure by itself, but the safest option was to use a combination of their blood.

"The text has been recorded and translated, Dr. Foster. I will relay the details to Dr. Banner once I can speak with him. You mentioned there was a third item?" JARVIS thought after a minute.

"Yes, and perhaps you will not be able to fulfill this one." Jane thought. "I wondered if you could alter someone's memory. Not for very long, just a few minutes."

JARVIS did not reply for a long moment.

"Whose memory?" The A.I. finally thought.

"Skaði's," Jane thought.

"Possibly," JARVIS thought. "I have not tried this on a non-human before."

"What are the variables?" Jane asked.

"Brain size, location of memory cells, protective cognitive systems." JARVIS spouted off.

"Failure rate?" Jane asked.

"Based on my scans since our arrival, eighteen percent,"

"Eighteen? I can risk the odds at eighteen. Let's do this." Jane thought. "Send Tony my message now."

"Transmitting." JARVIS thought.

Jane pulled her mind from JARVIS, no pain coming to her after doing so, and transported herself to Tony's heat signature. Tony was laughing when she arrived, Skaði's long, toned legs strewn over his lap, bare and in Vanir form.

"Tony, I need to talk to you." Jane said. She put on a worried tone when she spoke.

"What's happened, Janey?" Tony asked with a frown, pushing Skaði's legs aside to sit up straight. Jane saw he was ready to run when needed.

Jane looked between Tony and Skaði, unsure how much Skaði knew about the black fire being on Midgard.

"Is this about Midgard, Jane?" Skaði asked. "Nál told me there was a plague there."

"Yes. The dead come back to life." Jane said.

"Are you talking zombie style?" Tony asked with a furrowed brow.

Jane nodded and said, "They call them draugar here."

Skaði's face went pale at the mention of draugar.

"We need to go, Tony. Tell Skaði goodbye." Jane said and addressed Skaði to say, "Thank you for watching Tony today. Sorry to cut this so short."

Skaði shook her head, "Not at all. It was my pleasure."

"That's nice." Jane said as she cut off Skaði's air intake forcing her to die in Vanir form and turn Jötunn. She then provided her with restricted airflow to ensure she remained unconscious.

Jane conjured two small jars and handed one to Tony. Still in Jötunn form, she extended her claws and cut open Skaði's limp wrist. She moved a jar underneath Skaði's wrist and filled it with her blood.

"Jane, what's going on?" Tony asked finally as Jane handed him the blood-filled jar and took the empty one from him.

"Skaði is part of Laufey's tribe." Jane said as she healed Skaði's wound and ripped open her own wrist to fill the other jar with her blood. "That tribe's blood combined with my tribe's blood is the cure to this plague. I need you to take these samples back to Dr. Banner and have him synthesize them so you can produce enough to cure the Humans. JARVIS will give Bruce the specifics."

"How will we administer it to everyone?" Tony asked.

"No clue. Working on it." Jane said with a tight smile. "You're a super genius, Tony. Hopefully we can figure this out. For now though, I have to go save my realm and you need to go try to save yours."

"You're not coming with me?"

"I'll come help you once Asgard is secure." Jane said. She looked at Skaði's limp body before saying, "JARVIS, I'm going to wake her up. Can you ensure she thinks the last thing that happened was me thanking her?"

"Working on it, Dr. Foster." JARVIS replied from Tony's Iron Man suit.

"Working for Foster now, JARVIS?" Tony scoffed.

"I have no master, Mr. Stark." JARVIS replied.

Tony gave Jane a raised eyebrow frown and shrugged.

"Her mind is ready, Dr. Foster. You may wake her up now." JARVIS said.

Jane placed her hand on Skaði's skin so it would be logical to her that they were both in Jötunn form and rushed oxygen atoms into her nostrils. Skaði quickly woke up and looked around.

"Sorry, you were leaving, right?" Skaði said.

"Yes, unfortunately we need to go." Jane said.

"I will miss you, Skaði." Tony said to her with a grin.

"And I you, mortal." Skaði laughed. "Fare well, you both. And good luck."

"Thanks," Tony said.

"Come on," Jane said to Tony. She looked at Skaði and added, "Let Nál know we had to go. She should understand."

"She will." Skaði said with a nod.

Jane pushed Tony out the chamber door and they hurried down the icy corridor.

"Do we need to be outside for this mini Bifröst?" Jane asked him.

"No, but it doesn't hurt." Tony said.

"Okay, stop walking." Jane said.

Tony stopped. Jane wrapped her arms around him and let her magic flow through both. Before Tony could say anything, she had transported them outside of Utgard.

"Tony?" she yelled over the howling wind.

"He has passed out, I'm afraid." JARVIS replied.

"Well wake him up. We don't have time for this." Jane said.

After a long moment Jane could hear Tony grunting.

"Tony!" she yelled. "You have to get back to Midgard. Now!"

"Move back, Foster." Tony said as he flipped down his Iron Man facemask.

Jane took several steps backwards.

"See you on Earth! Don't be late, kid." Tony said as a whirl of dark energy swirled around him. There was a burst of light that caused Jane to squeeze shut her eyes. When she opened them Tony was gone.

Jane cleaned the remaining Jötunn blood off her skin to go back to Æsir form so she would not frighten Sif. She pulled the journal with the mini Bifröst specs from her back pocket and scanned it quickly, realizing it only essentially required the control of dark energy. She would have to build a pathway to Asgard from here. She knew she could piggyback on the radiation between the two realms, which the Bifröst operated on, but she wanted to go directly to Loki in his study. As she pulled the surrounding dark energy towards her, she was impressed with Tony's engineering. _Maybe he and Bruce can find a way to save Midgard._ She thought.

~.~.~

Travel took longer through a self created portal and it was a full ten minutes later when Jane touched down on the balcony that led to Loki's study. When she walked inside though, Loki was not there. Instead, Fandral stood clearly waiting for her.

"Where is he?" Jane demanded.

"He is with Sif in the King's Quarters." Fandral said. "He broke his agreement with Sif in order to warn us about the black fire."

"Why are you here?"

"Jane," Fandral began. "Sif has some demands."

"Oh, how quaint," Jane said coldly. "She is aware that without Loki, Thor will die, come back as a draugr, and then kill her, right?"

Jane moved to Fandral as she spoke and wrapped her arms around him. She let her magic flow through him and transported them both to the King's bed chambers. Fandral doubled over, gasping for air once they materialized. Jane conjured a small amount of orka from the chamber's high lamp and gave it to Fandral to help him recover. She looked around the room and only saw Thor on the bed. She could not tell if he was alive or not.

"Where are they?" she demanded to Fandral.

"Through here, Jane." Loki said from the next room.

His voice sounded tense, but with a hint of wickedness. Jane assumed he was being held captive, but when she barged into the adjacent chamber it was Sif who had a dagger to her throat. An Æsir muzzle was over her mouth and Loki had her immobilized, pinned tightly against his body.

"She never learns." Loki said to Jane. His eyes moved down to indicate he was talking about Sif.

"Let her go." Jane said as if Loki were her child trying to use an insect for an experiment.

"Why?" Loki said, furrowing his brow.

"Why hold her?" Jane said as if the concept were trivial.

"She's trying to kill me."

Sif's eyes blazed.

"Then she is a fool." Jane said and then looked at Sif before adding, "She cannot kill you. She never could."

"Let her go!" Fandral yelled upon entering the room. He drew his sword and Jane used magic to throw it across the room, its loud clattering on the limestone floor rang throughout the chamber.

She looked at Fandral and said, "We need to work together here. Can you please explain to Sif that she needs to trust Loki and me to do what is right?"

"Sif thinks we are all in collusion. Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?" Loki said with a biting laugh. Jane turned back to him. She had not seen him so insane before.

"Loki, this is petulant. How will you be respected as king when you act like this?" Jane said.

"King?" Sif laughed. "If your plan is that he is to be king, then just kill me now."

"Don't." Jane said pointedly to Loki. He glowered at her. Jane cocked her head at him, "Tell me what happened from the time I left you to now."

"I tried to warn them, like you asked, but Sif saw it as a breach of agreement. She told Fandral to wait for you and then brought me here to, well, to expedite the healing process." Loki said. "Oh, and Fandral told her everything about the changes you underwent."

Jane looked to Fandral and then to Sif. Sif narrowed her eyes at Jane.

"Your hatred is so misplaced it's laughable. You and I are allies, Sif. That has not changed despite that I am Jötunn now." Jane said to her. She looked back to Loki and asked, "What did you mean by 'expedite the healing process?'"

"Abigæl." He said and motioned to the bed with his head.

Jane looked to the bed and saw her lady's maid under the thick blankets.

"What did you do?" Jane asked Sif before rushing to Abigæl's side. She felt for a pulse and found an extremely weak one. Jane moved quickly in front of Sif with a cold stare and said to Loki, "Remove the muzzle, I wish to hear her speak on this matter."

The muzzle shimmered away and Loki pressed the dagger tighter to her throat.

"We had to test it." Sif said. "Fandral had some blood from Skaði left on his body."

"You fed her old, dried up blood?" Jane said.

"Now who's the fool?" Sif scoffed.

"Jötunn blood changes our form." Loki said to Jane. "They put her blood on me and then fed Abigæl my Jötunn blood."

Jane looked into his eyes and saw he was not lying.

"Well, it's not working." Jane said to no one in particular.

"She is not dead." Fandral said softly.

"Nor is she cured. Look at her skin." Jane said.

She gripped Loki's hand that held the dagger to Sif's neck and they rapidly changed into Jötunn form. Jane stared down into Sif's eyes with her most menacing Jötunn face and said, "If she dies because of your impatience, I will never forgive you."

Jane extended her claws with a growl and ripped open her wrist's vein. Loki's let his fingers graze Sif's face and Sif grimaced in pain from the burning cold.

"Stop," Jane said to him. Loki moved his fingers and Jane called to Fandral, "Contain Sif while Loki is Jötunn."

Once Fandral had Sif in his grip, Jane dragged Loki with her to Abigæl's side. She forced open her mouth and let her blood drip into it.

"You're different." Loki said softly to Jane.

She turned to look back at him. "So are you."

They held each others' red eyes until a terrified scream came from Abigæl. Jane spun to see what was wrong and saw the fear in Abigæl's eyes as she stared at her. Abigæl's skin was a normal color again and her eyes were their usual clear brown.

"She's afraid of us because we're Jötunn." Loki said, pulling from Jane's grip.

They shifted back to Æsir form and Jane stood up, too in shock with Abigæl's reaction to her to look at her again.

"Well it works." Sif said. "Time to keep your ends of the bargain."

Sif shoved Fandral off of her and marched into the king's bed chambers.

"Fandral, orientate Abigæl and keep her safely in here." Jane told Fandral as she and Loki walked by him to follow Sif.

Loki walked past Sif towards the exit of the king's bed chambers and Jane looked at Sif with a bewildered expression.

"Where are you going?" Jane asked him.

"Are we not saving Asgard?" he replied, spinning on his heel to face her.

"We are curing Thor." Sif said.

Jane moved quickly enough to grab Loki's wrist before he could transport out of the room.

"Let go of me." He said to Jane in a harsh tone.

Jane saw that their skin remained Æsir even as touched him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Curing Thor was not part of the deal." Loki said.

"No, what are you doing?" Jane asked.

"I'm shielding myself against your touch." Loki said. "Can you not see?"

Jane looked more closely at his skin and saw that it was emanating what looked like glowing gold mist.

"Loki, please." She said.

"I never agreed to save Thor. Only Asgard." Loki shot back.

"It's one and the same." Sif interjected.

Jane and Loki both shot her a glare and she extended the blade of her sword.

"Easy," Fandral said entering the room. "Sif put that away. Let them work this out. We all want to save Asgard."

Sif closed her sword, but remained tense.

"Loki, you will be killed for a murder you didn't commit if you don't help. Please!" Jane said, looking him in the eye. "I will force you, if I must."

"And how do you propose to manage that? You're going to lock me up so my blood is convenient for you? Keep me stowed away until I no longer hold value? You're just like the others!"

"You know that's not true." Jane said.

"I would rather die than know I put that witless oaf back on the throne." Loki leaned towards Jane, still shielded from her touch, and added, "Don't pretend you don't agree. I know what truths lay inside your heart, Jane, even if your dear friends do not."

"Jane?" Sif asked. "What is he saying?"

"Nothing," Jane whispered, letting go of Loki and backing away from him. "Cowardly lies is all."

"Oh, I see." Loki sneered. "You can't even admit it now. Why you came to Asgard, why you left Thor, why you accepted my offer of magic. Your new world is crumbling before you, Jane. Do you still fancy yourself coming out on top of all this? That Sif will step aside and let you have Thor back once he's healed? That you will be queen? They will put you in chains and lock you away, just like all the other monsters."

"You are so blind." Jane said, shaking her head. _Does he actually believe I still have feelings for Thor?_ She wondered. She thought their mindlinks had shattered that illusion for him. She took a breath and said, "After all we have been through, how can you not see that I am trying to save you?"

"I don't need saving." Loki said.

Jane sighed. This couldn't be it. This could not be his second betrayal. She looked to Thor's dying body on the bed. They were nearly out of time.

"Listen to me, Loki." Jane said softly. "You saved Thor before on Svartalfheim. You came out ahead there. Why should this be different?"

"I didn't save Thor on Svartalfheim." Loki said.

"I saw it happen."

"No, you saw me kill the Kursed. I wasn't saving Thor. It was never about Thor."

"I know." Jane said. She realized this might be her break. "It was for Frigga, I know."

"No, Jane," Loki whispered. He pushed his mind into hers and she let him. "It was for you," he thought.

"You were never linked to Frigga, you know." Jane thought back to him.

"I know that now. I know I felt her sacrifice, not her death." Loki thought. "It has always been you."

"I'm asking you to do this for me." Jane thought to him.

"You're asking the impossible."

"I need you to be better than this. I need you to be better for me." Jane thought.

"This is who I am." Loki thought.

"I have seen inside your heart as well, Loki. This is who you are choosing to be." Jane thought. "I am not asking you to change. I am asking you to be the man I know you are."

"And then what?"

Jane looked into his eyes and thought, "And then everything."

"Is that a promise you can even make?" he smirked.

Jane's eyes flashed as she grinned.

"I won't abandon you, Loki." She thought. "There is no one like us."

"No, there is not." He smiled, unlinking their minds and dropping his shield. "Come here." He said out loud.

Jane went to him, pulling his face to hers to press their throbbing foreheads together. Their forms began to change and Sif looked to Fandral with a mixture of relief and confusion as to what had just transpired. Fandral just shrugged. When Sif turned back to Loki and Jane they had begun to kiss. She looked again to Fandral for explanation.

"Hel if I know." Fandral said with a laugh.

Finally Sif cleared her throat and Jane and Loki looked her way. She raised her eyebrows at them.

"Oh, right." Jane said. She growled as she extended her claws, slicing her wrist open again. Loki had conjured a jar to catch the blood. She could feel her sexual tension growing from the site of her wound and knew that inflicting pain on Loki would only excite him, so she let him cut himself open. Loki's blood mixed with her own to form a blush-black solution.

Loki looked at her and said, "If we manage to kill him still after all that sentimental discourse, his death is on you."

"Deal," Jane said. She healed their wrist wounds and took the jar from Loki.

"I'll do it." Sif said. "I need to do it."

"Are you sure?" Jane asked her. She knew that just because their blood healed Abigæl, there was no guarantee it would work for Thor.

"Yes." Sif said with absolute surety. "I have fought this long for Thor; I want to be the one to save him."

"Okay," Jane said. "But if it doesn't work—."

"It will work." Sif cut her off. She took the jar from Jane, walked to Thor's bedside, and said to herself, "It has to work."

Loki wrapped his arm around Jane's waist as they watched Sif help Thor to sit up. Jane laced her fingers into his and let out an anxious breath.

"Thor, hey," Sif said softly as she cradled his heavy head. "You need to drink this."

Thor looked up at her, his blue eyes so faded that she thought her heart would break.

"Please," Sif said, holding the jar to his lips. She took a deep breath and tipped the glass upwards, the black liquid into Thor's mouth. She gave him barely a sip, not wanting to choke him. Thor made a swallowing motion and then began to cough. Sif moved the jar to the bedside table and rubbed his frame as he coughed in fits.

"It's working." Loki whispered, his hold on Jane tightening.

Thor's skin seeped back to its golden glow and his hair's luster returned. Jane let out a sigh of relief.

"Thor?" Sif said.

Thor looked to her, his eyes back to their sparkling blue.

"Why are you crying, Sif?" he asked.

Sif was flooded with relief, tears coming from her eyes freely as she embraced his body.

"I thought I had lost you." She murmured.

"I am here. I have always been here." Thor whispered with his face buried in her thick curls.

"Do we actually have to watch this?" Loki said in a low voice to Jane.

She looked at him and said, "No. Let's go bring the cure to the healing rooms."

"Thank you. It's getting disgusting." He muttered, looking repulsed by the scene on the bed.

"I will join you two." Fandral said with earnest to them.

Jane cast a look back at the bed to find Thor and Sif kissing passionately. It felt way to intimate to be around.

"I'll get the jar." Fandral offered with a grimaced smile.

Loki and Jane just nodded appreciatively and moved to the hallway that led out of the king's bed chambers.

"There's a shortcut through the dressing chambers." Loki said. "In case of emergency the path leads directly to the healing rooms."

"Good, let's go." Jane said and called for Fandral.

"This way," Loki said once Fandral caught up with the jar of their blood. Loki led them behind the wardrobe and down the secret passageway.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Tissues may be warranted while reading this chapter.

**_Songs for this chapter: "Elastic Heart" by Sia; "Chaos Is A Ladder" by Ramin Djawadi; "As the Hammer Falls" by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

"We should hurry. You remember what the text said." Jane said to Loki and Fandral. "It's been enough time for them come out of hibernation."

"Have faith, Jane." Loki said.

She shot him a questioning look.

"What?" he asked. "Some faith could be helpful."

"You better not start acting like Thor now." Jane said. "His placating optimism was rather boring."

"Never compare me to Thor again." Loki said angrily.

"Never let me." Jane shot back.

"Guys, stop." Fandral said. "You're both acting like a couple of insecure quims right now."

Jane and Loki looked at each other and burst out laughing. Fandral joined in their laughter until they reached the healing rooms a few moments later. The chambers were empty, abandoned. They were too late. The black fire victims were already revenants, roaming freely throughout the city.

"Damn." Loki said.

"What are we going to do now?" Fandral asked.

"We'll have to fight." Jane said. "There must be another way to administer the cure than by mouth. The text said it just needs to get into their fluids."

"Direct to the bloodstream?" Loki suggested.

"It'd need to be diluted." Jane shook her head.

"With what?" Loki asked. "Not water."

"No...orka, I'm guessing." Jane said.

They all looked to the ceiling where orka lamps were suspended. Loki conjured some orka to him and bounced it in his hand to contain it. There was a crashing noise in the next room.

"What was that?" Jane asked.

"Our test subject." Loki said.

"I'll take it down." Fandral said. "You prepare the solution."

Jane conjured a test tube and Loki slid some orka into it. Jane poured some of their blood in it and the mixture turned a glowing blue color.

"Interesting," she said. "I guess this is why their skin appears bluer on Jötunheim."

"How will we administer it?" Loki asked.

"Can you conjure a syringe?" Jane asked. Her hands were full.

"I don't know what that is."

"Hold this." She handed him the jar of blood. Conjuring a syringe, she plunged it into the test tube solution.

"I don't think that will pierce Æsir skin."

"It pierced Thor's skin on Midgard." Jane said.

"When he was stripped of Æsir magic." Loki said.

"Have some faith, Loki." Jane grinned.

"Insecure quim!" he teased.

"You ready, Fandral?" Jane called.

"Coming at you!" Fandral called back in a strained voice.

Jane and Loki turned to find Fandral fending off two Æsir nurses. Their skin was the gray color of the plague, but their movements were precise and quick. When they turned towards Jane and Loki, Jane gasped. Both their eyes were completely black.

"I'll corner one of them." Loki said, putting down the jar of their blood. "Fandral, stay with the other and Jane, get ready."

"Where should I stab her?" Jane asked.

"You're the one with the idea. Figure it out." Loki said. "Ready?"

"Aye," Fandral said.

"Yes," Jane said.

Loki transported himself to one of the nurses and held down her arms. She began to thrash about and shriek loudly.

"I need her more still than that." Jane said.

Loki gripped the woman's throat tightly, closing off her oxygen intake. She didn't change her behavior.

"I don't think they need to breathe." Fandral said.

"What do I do?" Loki asked.

"You're the one with the idea!" Jane said.

"Her companion grows angrier. You might try to hurry." Fandral urged.

Suddenly the woman bit Loki. He punched her in the face and shook his hand from the bite.

"You okay?" Jane asked, now by his side.

"That really hurt!" Loki said. "Is she still enough now?"

Jane looked down at the nurse who lay motionless on the floor, as if Loki's punch had killed her. Jane swallowed her nerves and knelt beside her. She cautiously took the woman's arm, feeling for a vein.

"Try the heart." Loki said.

"Really?" Jane looked at him.

"Yes," he said, nodding. Green light emanated from his palm as he healed the bite wound.

"I need my claws." Jane said.

"There are shears up here." Loki said, his hands occupied with the healing.

Jane conjured the shears from the healing table and cut open the unconscious woman's dress to give her clear access to her heart.

"Okay," Jane said, her arm poised with the syringe.

"Do it fast and hard or else you won't get through." Loki said.

Jane let out a breath to steady herself and then slammed the needle into the woman's heart. She depressed the plunger and removed the syringe.

Nothing happened.

"Knock her out, Fandral." Loki said.

Fandral delivered a swift blow to the fighting nurse's head with the helm of his sword and she slumped to the ground. The room fell silent in the sudden lack of shrieking.

"What happens when they wake up?" Jane asked.

"We have to mouth-feed them the undiluted blood." Loki said. "Otherwise, I don't think it's going to work."

"Loki, you and I don't have enough blood for that." Jane said. "There are tens of thousands of them."

The three looked at each other with concern.

"Will other Jötnar come help?" Fandral asked.

"I don't think so." Loki said. "I still think this was their doing."

"I disagree." Jane said. "Nál is my blood. Why would she be behind this?"

"I don't trust her." Loki said.

"What did we miss?" Sif asked as she and Thor emerged from the normal entrance to the healing chamber. Though they looked like they had been through a battle, both had a post-coital glow to their skin.

"Were there Æsir out there?" Fandral asked.

"Scores of them. All with eyes colored black." Sif nodded.

"We knocked them unconscious. I thought you would have an administrable cure by now." Thor said, looking at Jane and Loki.

"It's..." Jane started. Thor was staring at her. She couldn't read him, but he seemed angry with her. She wondered how much Sif had told him.

"We haven't perfected it yet." Loki finished for her.

Just then a hand grabbed Jane's ankle and she screamed. Loki's head snapped to her and then to the floor. The woman was awake. He crouched down and pulled her hand from Jane's ankle. He looked at the nurse's eyes and found them to be hazel in color. Her skin glowed Æsir again.

"You died." She said to him, recognizing him as Prince Loki.

"Yes, so did you." Loki replied without missing a beat. "But we're all better now. Back to life."

He looked up to Jane who was smiling in amazement.

"The cure's ready." Loki said, standing up.

Jane hurried to refill the syringe with the remaining test tube solution and tossed it to Fandral.

"We should split up." Thor said. He looked at Jane and said, "Sif says you know magic now. Will you be able to tend to our wounds with it like Loki always could?"

"Yes." Jane said.

"Good. One healer per group." Thor said.

"I'll go with Fandral." Loki said.

"Loki," Thor said. "Fight beside me."

Loki stared at him and said nothing. Finally he turned to Fandral and said, "We should get to Volstagg first so he can help us."

Fandral nodded and then stabbed the other nurse in the heart with the syringe.

"Loki, please brother, fight beside me." Thor said again. "What do you say?"

Loki looked Thor in the eye and replied, "I have nothing to say to you. In my mind you are dead."

Thor recoiled, wounded by Loki's words. Sif looked cautiously between Thor and Loki and then to Jane. Jane gave her an expression that Sif understood to mean Jane had no clue why Loki was acting this way.

"I brought your bow, Jane." Sif said, clearing the tense silence after a moment. She tossed the bow and quiver of falcon arrows to her. Jane caught them easily and pulled them on.

Loki had slid the remaining orka into the jar of blood and was agitating it to even out the mixture. Jane conjured another jar and Loki poured half of the solution into it. She conjured two stoppers for the jars and attached one jar to her quiver's belt. Loki slid the other jar into his pocket and then looked at her.

"Jane," he smiled. "Promise me that—"

"—No, you be careful." Jane smirked at him.

"I was going to say not to disappoint me." He said, leaning down to kiss her.

Jane projected a shield layer over her skin so they would not change form as they kissed. After Abigæl's terrified scream, she wasn't sure she could handle Thor's reaction to her Jötunn self just yet. Plus with Loki's words stinging Thor so recently, she did not think it was the best time to show him just how similar she and Loki had become. Though she was certain Sif had told Thor about her transformation, Jane knew it was one thing to hear about it and another to see it.

Loki pulled away from her mouth, his eyes darkening.

"I see," he hissed. "So this is who you truly are. How disappointing."

"Loki," Jane said. She went to grab his arm, but it shimmered away at her touch. She closed her eyes to search for him, but he had cloaked himself from her.

When Jane opened her eyes, everyone was looking at her as if expecting an explanation of Loki's whereabouts.

"I can't see him." She said.

Sif looked at Fandral and said, "Go heal Volstagg and his family. We will head to the throne room and lure the others in. It will be easier to take them from a central point. Also, I wish to apologize to you and Jane both for my behavior in the past months. I lost part of myself when Thor grew ill and in turn mistreated you both. I am ashamed of how I behaved."

"It's okay. It's understandable." Jane said with a nod.

"All is forgiven, Sif." Fandral said. "We are just glad you and Thor are all right."

"Exactly." Jane said. She looked between all their faces, meeting each in the eye before adding, "Let's go eradicate this plague from our realm."

As they left the healing room, Jane conjured a set of syringes and filled them with the cure solution for use on Volstagg and his family. She handed them to Fandral, who kept walking when they reached the mass of people Sif and Thor had already fought.

"If we use a blade coated in the solution, I think it will still work." Sif said. "It will be much quicker than that thing."

"It's called a syringe." Jane said. "But I think you're right. It just needs to get into their blood. The Æsir radiation can easily heal a basic stab wound."

Jane opened the jar and Sif dipped her small knife in it. Thor used his dagger and Jane pulled one of the arrows out of her quiver, dousing the arrowhead. The three made quick work of the group and continued towards the throne room in Iðavöllr Hall.

"How will we lure them?" Jane asked.

"They seem to be able to smell us." Thor said. "As if their main impulse is to give us their disease."

Jane nodded, comparing it to the Jötunn text in her mind. "So we're just going to wait for them to come to us?" she asked.

"Have you a better idea?" Sif asked in earnest. "We are too few to seek them out and be caught off guard. The throne room has only one true entrance."

"Plus we only have half of the solution now that Loki has disappeared." Thor said.

"Not exactly," Jane said. "That was an illusion. After his reaction to you, I figured he'd betray us, so, I faked the extra jar. I have it all."

"You can do that?" Thor asked, impressed.

"Of course, that's basic stuff." Jane shrugged.

"It's impressive, Jane." Sif said. "Thank you."

"I won't let my people die." Jane said. "And when we are through here, I'll need enough extra to take to Midgard."

"One realm at a time, Jane." Thor said with a chuckle and looked to Sif with a wink.

Sif touched his arm affectionately, almost in a territorial way, and Jane closed her eyes to search again for Loki. It was still blank.

~.~.~

When they reached Iðavöllr Hall it was empty.

"Let's set up right by the throne." Sif said. "That way we have a solid back, plus the stairs will provide a better vantage point."

"Good idea, Sif." Thor smiled at her.

Sif smiled back and Jane felt like a third wheel. Worse though, she felt forgotten. She wondered if this was what Sif went through while she'd been dating Thor. It was unlikely given how Thor had still been her close friend. Plus Jane did not have any emotions for Thor now, especially not the kind Sif always had. _No, this feeling of insignificance is not comparable to Sif's years of patient pining._ Jane decided. She realized it had more to do with who was absent than with who was present.

After ten minutes, a group of sentient Æsir entered the throne room.

"Remember to knock them out in the head." Thor said. "Jane, you have the cure ready?"

"Yes," Jane said.

Sif steadied her stance, only one of her sword blades extended. Jane bounced on the balls of her feet, her grip firm on the handle of her bow.

"We mean you no harm." Thor said to the approaching crowd. "We only seek to cure you. Let us help you peacefully."

"They cannot understand you." Sif said. "Talking is a waste of time."

The crowd continued to approach, their eyes fully blacked out. Thor's hammer dropped in his grip, ready for battle.

"I'm getting higher up." Jane said and transported herself to the top of the throne platform. She had never stood there alone, looking out on the court. It felt good. She pulled a cure-laced arrow from her quiver and took aim at the second closest sentient.

"I'm firing." She said.

The arrow released and she guided it with magic to strike the Æsir man directly in the heart. He fell to the ground and Jane hit the man next to him before the rest of the sentient crowd could rush Thor and Sif. The couple fought off the throng together with an agile ease, almost like a dance. Jane observed how well suited the pair was as she continued to shoot arrows in the attacking crowd's hearts. After twenty, she'd run out of arrows. As she began the process of conjuring them back to her, a shimmer in her peripheral vision caught her eye.

Loki was sneaking away in the direction of the dungeons.

"Don't you dare!" Jane called at him, throwing a bolt of energy from her Æsir radiation in his direction. He shimmered away and Jane closed her eyes for a split second to see his lifeforce wasn't there. It wasn't even nearby. She expanded her search to the dungeons and found him there.

"We have a problem." Jane called to them. "Loki's in the dungeons."

"I will go to him." Thor said as he smashed mjölnir into a sentient.

"Thor, more approach." Sif said, taking down another sentient.

A massive crowd was entering the hall. Jane conjured five arrows, wet them with the cure, and shot five Æsir. The original crowd was now down to a mere handful.

"Let me go now." Thor said. "You can handle this, the pair of you."

"No, Thor." Jane said. "I'm the only one who can take Loki down. He and I are the same. I know his weaknesses. Stay here with Sif."

"What do you mean that you are the same?" Thor asked.

Jane looked at him a moment before dipping her finger in the cure. Her form shifted to Jötunn at the blood's touch and she smiled tightly at Thor as she said, "I mean we are the same."

Thor stared at her, blinking a few times before he nodded.

"Jane," Sif said. Jane looked at her and Sif's expression softened as she said, "Be safe."

Jane grinned and threw Sif the jar of the cure. She wiped her finger off on her clothing and faded back to Æsir form.

"I expect a fully restored court when I return." Jane said. "Because I'll probably have a dead sentient army chasing me here."

"We will not disappoint you, Jane." Thor said and shared a battle smile with Sif. "Now go."

Jane transported herself directly to the dungeons and found it eerily quiet. _Did Loki already let them all out?_ She wondered for a moment before seeing the cells were all an illusion. She briefly wondered if this was even the dungeons and then she heard Loki's laugh. It cackled as an echo throughout the chamber as he duplicated himself around her.

"So it ends here where it began?" he said. "How poetic."

"Almost like you planned it." Jane said wryly.

"Almost, sweet Jane." He sneered.

Jane quickly determined which Loki was real and transported herself behind him, wrapping the handle of the bow around his neck and pulling it tight. The handle, steeped in Vanir Light, prevented his use of magic forcing Loki to drop the illusion and reveal the hordes of sentients locked in the cells. Jane had subconsciously planned for this exact moment based on her prophecy. Loki did not give any theatrics as he gasped for air.

"How do you think this will end?" she asked him.

He reached back and grabbed her hair, yanking it hard as leverage while he flipped over her.

She ducked before he could grab her body and transported herself from his reach. They began to circle each other while the sentients angrily slammed into the prison cell walls trying to get to them.

"Just one flick of the finger, Jane." He said, his eyes wild. "And chaos reigns."

"Chaos reigns already, fool." Jane said. "What's become of you? You wanted to save these people so you could rule them."

"Yes, and then Thor lived." Loki said. "You saved him. You and your precious Thor. And for what? You're too ashamed to show him who really are. Too concerned he will reject you because you are a monster like me. He will never love you again because of who you've become. So why save him at all?"

Loki had been blocking Jane's attempts to enter his mind during his impassioned speech.

"I do not care if Thor loves me. You know I no longer love him." Jane said.

"What do you love, Jane? I want to destroy it!" Loki cried.

Jane flashed him a grin, a wicked Jötunn style grin, and whispered, "Chaos. Loki, I love chaos. From it stems all growth."

"Then I will give you what you love." Loki said. He moved to open the cells and Jane countered his magic.

"I will not let you do this." Jane said. Her voice held a regal air of authority.

"How will you stop me?" Loki asked. "I taught you everything you know."

Jane focused her magic on his esophagus, closing the windpipes with their own cells. She knew he lacked the Æsir secondary air sacs Sif had told her about at Ian's birthday party because she too lacked them.

"Not everything." Jane said to him without emotion.

Loki stared at her unable to breathe, unable to do anything to stop her. His eyes welled over with tears from the pressure and he could feel his Æsir self dying. He wanted touch Jane's face, just once more, before she killed him.

Jane saw his eyes change first. Their blurred red was foreign as Jötnar have no tears. His skin shifted next, slowly at first and then all at once. This was the moment she should finish him off. This was his weakest time in existence since infancy.

But she could not.

Instead she braced herself for his next move. She readied some orka to attack him with, concealing it from sight. Urðr's words echoed in her mind, _Prophecies are always true, though perhaps not in the way you imagine._ Jane realized with relief she just had fulfilled her prophecy by killing him in Æsir form.

"You let me live, Jane?" Loki chuckled with menace in his recovered Jötunn form. "Why?"

"Sentiment." Jane spat his word back at him.

She thought she saw him react, only slightly, before he began to charge her. She cast the orka bolt at him. He flew backwards hard, slamming into the far wall, and Jane looked around for another weapon, finding nothing.

Then she saw it, hanging so obviously on the wall within reach. It was so dangerous to her that she was hesitant to grab it. She felt Loki wrap his arm around her neck and the hesitation went away. She transported from his grasp, grabbed the fire torch, and spun to face him. He backed up quickly and stared at her with scared eyes.

"You wouldn't dare." He hissed.

"Do not test me, Loki." Jane commanded. Her voice was forceful growl of authority.

They were locked in this standoff when a blood curdling scream of anguish could be heard all the way from the throne room.

Loki saw the torch fall to the ground as Jane transported herself back to the throne room. He flicked his wrist to open the cells and then transported himself to the throne room as well.

He landed next to Jane and found himself amidst a chaotic mess. Sentients were everywhere with just Fandral and Volstagg to fight them off.

 _Where is Thor?_ He wondered. No sooner did he think it than he saw Sif collapsed on the floor. She was white as a ghost and it was immediately clear the scream had come from her. As his eyes traced from her figure downward, he saw a sight he had only imagined before: Thor with a sword through his heart.

As soon as he pieced together that his brother was dead, the owner of the massive sword gripped its helm. _Heimdall._

"No!" Jane yelled as she transported herself to Thor's side.

Loki conjured orka from the high lamps and cast it at Heimdall. Heimdall's sword, Hofuð, went flying as it was hit with the orka bolt, keeping Jane and Sif safe for a brief moment. Heimdall spun to glare at Loki with pitch black eyes. As he started to stand, Loki conjured more orka and cast it at Heimdall again. His massive frame was thrown only a couple of meters and Loki wondered how strong these sentients actually were. The nurse's bite had been hard, but a single orka bolt should have sent Heimdall flying across the hall. Loki quickly transported himself over Heimdall's recovering body.

How many times he had desired this moment. It was too many to count. He looked into Heimdall's black eyes and wanted to spit on him. Thor and Heimdall dead just moments apart, and he would be Thor's avenger. It was all too ironic, he almost laughed.

Then he heard her voice. All Jane said was "No" in hardly a whisper, but it made him look at her. Her hands were over Thor's heart, desperately trying to heal him with magic. He knew from her expression that she knew Thor was dead. Her fruitless healing attempt was for the sake of Sif. Jane's eyes were locked on Loki though. Her word was meant for him.

Loki let out a growl and ripped open his wrist's artery with his claw. He forced his dripping wrist into Heimdall's mouth. His eyes found Jane's again and she mouthed the word for "Thank you" in Jötunn.

Heimdall's eyes shifted from black to their unique gold under the potency of Loki's blood mixed with the orka he had been consuming for weeks now to delay his death from black fire.

"What has happened?" he demanded.

"A battle," Loki said. "And we need you to fight."

Heimdall stood, eying Jötunn Loki warily before he turned to take in the throne room's scene of despair.

Jane was holding Sif in her arms as Sif sobbed uncontrollably. Thor had faded to an ashen color as death laid claim to his lifeforce. Unconscious bodies of sentient Æsir surrounded their trio in piles. Beyond that circle of bodies, Fandral and Volstagg continued to fight off the hordes.

"What have I done?" Heimdall whispered into the air.

"Nothing in your power," Loki said to him. His Æsir form was beginning to return. He continued, "See these people? The masses are healing under Jane's cure. All they need is time. Won't you help us give them time?"

"I of course will help." Heimdall said.

The two men looked down at Jane and Sif. Jane helped Sif to her feet.

"He will not have died in vain, Sif." She said in earnest. "We will win this battle. We will save Asgard. We will do so in his name."

Sif nodded, wiping her face of its tears and composing herself. She picked up her sword.

"For Thor!" Jane cried, holding her bow high in the air.

"For Thor!" the others echoed.

As they cried this, mjölnir began to wobble. Its markings flashed gold and then it flew through the air, landing securely in Loki's grip. Everyone stared at him for a moment, but it was only Jane's eyes that he saw. He found himself walking to her, almost running, and she to him. Sif turned away to go help Fandral and Volstagg, and Heimdall hurried to join her, receiving instructions from Volstagg on how to take the sentients down without killing them.

Loki and Jane found themselves in each other's embrace for a moment before their lips met. They turned Jötunn without anyone noticing. After a few seconds, Jane pulled herself from him.

"I'm going to need your blood if we're to get through this." Jane said.

"It's all yours." Loki said.

Jane conjured a new jar for them to collect their blood. As they held each other's flesh, Loki reopened the wound in his wrist and pooled his Jötunn blood in the jar. Jane had him hold it while she slit her own wrist with her claw. A stray sentient tried to attack them, but they both used their minds to gather a dropar layer of dark matter around themselves to block it.

"You opened the cells after I left, didn't you?" Jane asked him.

Loki frowned almost painfully before saying, "Sorry about that."

"We'll just need another jar." Jane said.

They stood there collecting enough blood to cure the masses while the piles of bodies grew around the four warriors. Finally they had enough. Jane mixed the blood with orka she conjured from the high lamps.

"Use your dagger," Jane told Loki. "It has to be to the heart. You should try to heal everyone because I only got twenty-five of them before I came for you."

They looked around. Hundreds of bodies filled the court. Jane began to dip her arrows in the solution.

"And you?" Loki asked.

"There may be hundreds unconscious, but thousands more are coming." Jane said. "I am better suited on the front line with my bow for now."

Loki nodded.

"And, Loki," Jane added.

"Yes?"

"You own that hammer now. So use it to our advantage, okay?"

Loki looked down at mjölnir in his hand. Odin's words from the time of Thor's banishment echoed in his head. _Whoever holds this hammer shall possess the power of Thor._ Even now Loki remained yet a shadow of the mighty Thor.

"Hey, you okay?" Jane said, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah," Loki said. He swung the hammer once to get a feel for it. It felt like unstoppable power. His eyes flashed to Jane's, "I'm fine."

Jane hesitated. She didn't trust his eyes, but if his intent was malicious, mjölnir would abandon him.

"Okay, get moving then. You need to cure them before they wake up again." Jane said.

Loki nodded and transported himself to an unconscious sentient and stabbed it with his cure-laced dagger blade. Jane went to join the others with her bow.

~.~.~

"I have cured them all." Loki reported to Jane twenty minutes later.

"Good, thank you." Jane said as she fired another arrow.

"How might I assist now?" Loki asked.

Jane looked around. There was only a small number of sentients in the hall at the moment.

"We will need to organize the cured Æsir once they wake up." Jane said. "Perhaps you and Heimdall can handle that?"

"Yes," Loki said. His mind raced as it established an overall solution that stitched together each patchwork task to create a viable plan of action. "We will divide them by recovery speed and value. If injured, they will go to the healing rooms. If well and from the Æsir guard, we will enlist them to fight with us. If well, but not of the guard, they will go to assist in the healing rooms or remain safely in the two council rooms."

"That makes sense, except who is in the healing rooms to help heal?" Jane asked. "Should we not just heal them ourselves with true magic?"

"It will take too much of our energy." Loki said. He called for Heimdall, who turned to him. "Come with me to the healing rooms to ensure the healers and nurses are well and ready for patients."

Heimdall nodded and backhanded a sentient unconscious before walking to Loki. Before Heimdall could protest, Loki wrapped his arms around him and let his magic flow through his giant frame. He transported them to the tunnel that led from the royal chambers to the healing rooms in order to give Heimdall time to recover.

"I am fine." Heimdall said a second after they materialized.

"How?" Loki asked. "You should not even be healed without Jane's blood."

"It must be the orka." Heimdall said.

"Drink this cure in case." Loki said and handed the jar to Heimdall. "If you somehow are not cured, Jane will not forgive me."

"Is that what you seek? Jane's approval?" Heimdall asked, taking the jar and drinking a sip of the cure solution.

"We all seek that now." Loki said. "With Thor dead, you and I bear the responsibility of this realm. We both know I am unworthy of that. As Ward of Asgard, you now rule this realm. Can I count you as an ally to Jane when she is asked to ascend the throne?"

"You abandon your claim to the throne so easily? This I cannot believe." Heimdall said.

"Love is strange." Loki said.

"The night you took Jane, the stars aligned to show Jötunheim's constellations. To show Jörmungandr with Midgard in its center. This is no coincidence, Loki." Heimdall said.

"That is the future. This is the present." Loki replied. He placed a hand on Heimdall's shoulder and asked again, "Can I count you as an ally to Jane?"

"I have been an ally to Jane Foster before she was born. Your sentiment towards her now holds no bearing on my allegiance." Heimdall replied. He started walking towards the healing room and added, "Now let us secure the healing room so we might return to Iðavöllr Hall quickly."

Loki nodded and followed him into the healing rooms. Heimdall took down two nurses who Loki recognized as the same ones Jane and Fandral had cured.

"We cured them before." Loki said to Heimdall. "Looks like the cured are not immune to further exposure from the sentients. I will send a guard group back here first to protect the healing rooms."

Heimdall nodded and the pair moved through the healing rooms as quickly as they could until everyone was put down and administered the cure.

"Go back to them." Heimdall said. "I will instruct the healers once they wake."

"Lock them in to protect them. Return to Iðavöllr Hall once you're done." Loki said.

Heimdall nodded and Loki transported himself back to the throne room. The tiny group was fighting off a massive horde. Loki ran to Jane's side and helped defend her from multiple sentients.

"We need another approach." Jane yelled.

"I will use mjölnir." Loki said.

"Thor tried that and it did not work." Sif said after throwing two sentients from her body.

"I am not Thor." Loki said evenly.

He looked to Jane and she nodded. Loki gripped mjölnir tighter and willed his magic into the hammer. There was a metallic hum and a few pops before the hammer began to emanate a green and gold light. Loki heaved it in the air and slammed it hard on the limestone floor of the hall. The broad tiles cracked in a methodical way, snaking towards the horde of sentients like the fingers of a lightning bolt. The entire group of sentients fell to the ground unconscious. Their numbers were in the hundreds.

"Can you do that more than once?" Jane asked.

"Easily." Loki said. "As long as I have orka to recharge myself."

Jane nodded and reached her hand to his to squeeze it briefly in relief.

"How?" Sif stuttered. "How could you do that but not Thor?"

She stared at Loki, whose flesh was returning to Æsir after Jane's touch. He shook his head for a moment and then spoke.

"Sometimes you need a great king more than a good man." Loki said.

"Are you king now?" Sif asked in a quiet voice.

"Come," Loki said to her. "I will help you preserve Thor's body so we might give him a proper funeral."

Sif looked between Loki and Jane before she walked to Thor's body. Jane turned from them and began to heal the massive crowd that Loki had just downed with mjölnir. She passed the cure around so Volstagg and Fandral could help, but by using magic she was able to administer the cure at a rate of 25:1 to each of them.

By the time they finished curing the downed masses, Heimdall had returned from the healing rooms. Jane summoned the three men together while Loki and Sif preserved Thor's body.

"Heimdall, you will stay here to divide the cured. Using mjölnir we will be able to handle the palace without much fighting. Fandral, I need you scout the city for those needing cure who have not made their way to the palace. Once you finish that, we will begin to cure the ravens. Volstagg, you will be in charge of the lands beyond the city. We will send you both out once enough of the guard has awoken to accompany you." Jane dictated. "Should you become overwhelmed by the sentients, speak it aloud along with your location and Heimdall will hear you. We will come to you if you are in need of aid."

The men nodded. A terrified scream came from behind them and they all turned.

"They are waking." Heimdall said as he ran towards the Æsir who screamed.

"We will help Heimdall until it is time to split up." Jane said and transported herself to another scared Æsir.

Fandral and Volstagg followed her orders with the other cured Æsir until enough guards were awake to accompany them. Loki and Sif had finished by then and Thor's body was safely stowed in Glaðsheimr when a new horde of sentients arrived.

"On it." Loki said as he transferred the power of mjölnir mingled with his magic into the floor with a swift smash.

~.~.~

This fighting and curing went on for three days before Volstagg returned to report that Asgard outside of the palace and city was cured. In this time, nearly three-quarters of Asgard's population had lay dead in the court; waking up in segments until finally the last of them had been divided by Heimdall and Loki. Fandral and Sif had cured the ravens they could find and spread the word among the species that there was a cure waiting for them.

Loki and Jane healed the small group's remaining battle wounds before Jane announced, "I must now go to Midgard to save my people."

"You are too tired, Jane." Sif said softly. "You must rest first. Let us wait until after the funeral to go together and save the mortal realm."

"No, there is no time. The governments there are useless at making non-bureaucratic decisions. I fear for the entire planet." Jane said.

"I will not help you." Heimdall said. "You must rest, Jane. You have given too much blood and energy here. What use will you be there in your current state?"

"A single weakened version of any of us is stronger than a million mortals. Besides, I do not need your help, Heimdall." Jane said fiercely. "I am entirely capable of hopping realms on my own. And if no one else is coming, I will go now."

With that she marched from Iðavöllr Hall to the daylight outside. She focused her remaining strength on pulling all the dark energy she could. In a few minutes she had enough to open a partial portal. She would have to direct herself while in motion, but decided she would be fine.

As she flew through space, her sense of direction quickly became muddled. She tried to focus her mind and correct her course but she was too exhausted. She felt herself fading away. Was her fate truly to become lost in the stars? It only seemed fitting.

"Jane,"

She heard the voice but could not muster the strength to respond. The dark energy was beginning to press in on her.

"Jane, I'm taking you home." Loki said as he took her into his arms amidst the weak portal. He mustered the final stores of his energy to reverse their direction and landed them safely, if not slightly ungracefully, back on Asgard.

He carried her back to his old chambers and placed her on his bed. He was too exhausted to use magic to remove her shoes and armor, so he did it manually before removing his own and placing mjölnir on the ground next to the bed. He picked it up again still unable to fully believe he possessed it despite having used it successfully for the last few days. Jane stirred slightly and he put the hammer down.

Loki pulled the covers down and moved Jane underneath them before crawling in next to her. Their skin flittered from pale colored to icy blue as they shifted to a comfortable position until finally they were both Jötunn. Their bodies huddled together in a tired embrace.

"Thank you." Jane murmured.

Loki kissed the markings on her forehead and whispered, "Sleep, Jane."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, readers! I am back and we are going to close this story out in style. Aiming for Monday and Thursday releases each week until it is done. I hope you enjoy and feel free to review, comment, kudo etc.

**_Songs for this chapter: “Exogenesis Symphony Part 3” by Muse; “Into Eternity” by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

Jane woke cradled in Loki’s arms. He had pulled his mind from hers hours ago, having taken advantage of her weakened state to read her thoughts. He now knew the truth behind her decisions. He had seen her terrible prophecy from Valfreyja and marveled that she had rejected it, even when he acted so petulantly in reaction to her. Beyond her prophecy though, he had seen her fate as it was woven by the Norns. Jane had drunk from the Well of Mimir. All this time she had kept this truth from him. He admired her even more for it. She had known not to trust him. She never let emotion dictate her will.

He smiled at her as she blinked awake, her red eyes focusing on him.

“Hello,” he said softly.

“You were in my head, weren’t you?” Jane asked. “I can feel it, even now. You were digging deep.”

“You’re very thorough in your concealment techniques.” Loki said. He was through with lying to Jane.

“Perhaps I was trying to hide some truth from myself.” Jane said.

“You shouldn’t.” Loki said. “You will make a fine queen.”

“Yes, well, I am fairly certain you are next in line.” Jane shrugged. She didn’t want to move from his embrace, but she also did not wish to continue this conversation. It was likely the most dangerous one they would ever have.

“Perhaps that is why you were slotted to kill me?” Loki said.

“Seems logical.” Jane smiled weakly and closed her eyes again. She felt Loki’s lips on her forehead and then his nose lightly rubbing her markings.

“Thank you.” He murmured.

“For what?”

“For not killing me.”

Jane opened her eyes and pulled Loki’s face from hers so she could look at him when she said, “I said I would never abandon you. I meant it.”

“I know that now.” Loki said then quickly corrected himself saying, “I believe that now.”

“Good.” Jane said and smiled.

Still grasping his head, she pulled it towards her and kissed him. Their Jötunn lips pressed hard together and Jane pushed her tongue into Loki’s mouth. He met it eagerly and Jane felt a level of arousal overcome her that she had never experienced before. It was all encompassing and rather singular, like the urge she’d had to kill him on Alfheim. She pressed her body against his, desperate to feel him, his muscles, his flesh.

“Jane,” Loki said in a strangled voice, pulling his mouth from hers.

“What?” Jane hissed.

“We should practice shielding our flesh from each other before we are in public together.” Loki said.

“You want the first time we have sex not to be in our true forms?” Jane asked, somewhat appalled. “Are you still ashamed of who you are?”

“No,” Loki said. “But the Æsir are raised to hate the Jötnar. We are the monsters they tell their children to fear at night, Jane. We must appear Æsir to them.”

“It’s wrong. We could teach them instead not to hate the Jötnar.” Jane said, pulling her fingers through Loki’s long hair. “We did save all their lives, after all.”

“Yes, but who risked their lives? We really do not know and the disease is Jötunn.” Loki said. “The hatred runs so deeply and it has for so long now. You’ve seen the library. You know this is not a problem we can fix overnight.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Merely that we practice. You shielded your skin from me before, so Thor would not see what you are, that is what we both need to be able to do without thinking about it.” Loki explained.

“It makes sense if you’re to be king.” Jane said.

“No, it makes sense if you’re to be queen, Jane.” Loki said and met her eye.

Jane rolled her eyes, “That’s crazy.”

“It is madness? Is it really?” Loki asked. When Jane didn’t reply he added, “Come, let’s practice. You’ve never seen me naked in my Æsir form.”

Loki wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

“Fine,” Jane said. “Let’s practice. Take off your shirt.”

“See, you’re already giving commands.” Loki said and pulled off his tunic, folded it, and placed it on the bedside table closest to him.

“Now your pants.” Jane said, ignoring his comment.

They were his only layer and he lay naked in Æsir form next to Jane. She tried to push the vision of Ragnarök from her mind, his body identical to the suffering Loki she had foreseen.

“I don’t know if I can do it like this.” Jane said. “This is how you look when you die.”

“We don’t have to do anything.” Loki said. “But try at least to touch me without us turning Jötunn.”

Jane nodded after a moment and then emanated the shield from her lifeforce. It was a thin gold layer, invisible to the non-Jötunn eye. She pressed her hand to Loki’s chest and their skin did not change.

“Should you be doing it too?” Jane asked.

“My version is not as subtle as yours.” He said and then began to glow bright gold as he tried to emanate just a thin shield.

“How are you doing it?” Jane asked.

“I’d equate it to the feeling when you sense something is behind you and your spine seems to stand on end?” Loki said. “It’s as though I am pushing outward from my spine.”

“Okay,” Jane said. “Mine is more like I am trying to protect something by wrapping myself around it. It’s focused more in my abs and in here.” Jane traced her fingers from the edge of Loki’s left pectoral muscle to the edge of his right.

“Focused where? Can you show me again?” Loki smiled.

“Right here.” Jane said and then kissed his left pectoral muscle before saying, “To right here” and tracing the flesh to his right pectoral with her lips.

Loki let out a soft moan.

“Try it.” Jane said. “Or are we done practicing?”

“No, we’re not done.” Loki said. Jane could see his shielding had changed to mimic her style. He took her by the shoulders and flipped her onto her back. Their forms remained Æsir and he leaned over her before saying, “We’re just getting started.”

Jane arched up to kiss him and he grabbed at the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and tossing it aside. Jane kissed him hungrily, pressing her bare skin against his.

Loki pulled away and said, “You’ve stopped shielding.”

“Only one of us needs to.” Jane said.

“But what if I lose focus? We should both be vigilant about it at all times to support each other.” Loki said.

“It’s so frustrating when you’re right. “ Jane groaned.

Loki grinned.

“Okay, shield back up. Please remove my pants before I switch forms to shred them with my claws.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Loki laughed and then pulled off Jane’s pants. He looked at her body, which was stunning, and wished they were in Jötunn form so he could take her how he truly wanted to. But he knew they had to get this right before Thor’s funeral. He knew Jane’s emotions would be too exposed and all consuming then for her to remember a shield when touching him. It needed to become second nature. If Jane was ever to ascend to the throne here, she had to appear Æsir.

After taking a moment to admire the way the daylight bounced off her breasts, Loki spread Jane’s legs apart and kissed the inside of her thighs. If Æsir sex was anything like he remembered, then they would be having orgasms by the dozen quite soon. He hoped they would be able to focus, but this would be the ultimate test of their self control.

His tongue found her clitoris and moved in a quick rhythm over it. Jane began to shift her breathing and he felt her shield dissipate.

“No, no, no.” he said, pulling up to look at her. “You have to focus on staying Æsir.”

Jane gave him a scowl, emanated her shield, and said, “Go again.”

Loki resumed his previous position and moved his tongue more slowly. This seemed to the key, as Jane’s skin remained shielded and her fingers laced their way through his hair. He traced his hands over her thighs, applying more pressure with each pass. Suddenly he felt her pressing into his mind.

“What are you doing?” he thought to her.

“I wanted to see what you were thinking.” Jane thought back.

“So insecure, Jane? After all we’ve been through?”

“I just know what you like, and this isn’t it.”

Loki wondered what she meant, which he knew she could see him do, and finally realized that she had only seen him with Skaði in his memories. It had only been one specific memory too. Loki let out a laugh and kissed Jane’s body upwards from her vagina. His shield was still in place and so was hers.

“You’ve never had Æsir sex, have you?” Loki thought. “And yes, I figured out you were Æsir not Human before Nál explained it to you.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Jane prodded in thought.

“You were on the other side of an illusion wall at that point.”

“You were sleeping in the bed without me.” Jane thought as Loki hovered his body over hers. His lips were less than an inch away from hers, but he seemed intent on keeping them just out of reach. Even without reading his mind, she could tell he meant to tease her for a bit.

“Yes, well, I was being foolish.” Loki thought. Jane could see what he was actually thinking though. His memory playing out to show him waking up on the cell’s floor next to her and bringing her sleeping body to the prison’s daybed. He’d settled her head into his lap while he sat awake, thinking about the plague’s symptoms and how they were too similar to what happened on Vanaheim. He had started his trips to the library then while she slept. The reason her neck had been sore was because of the angle he’d placed her on his lap, not because she had slept on the floor.

“Very sweet of you.” Jane thought, teasing him now.

Loki closed the inch between their lips and kissed her softly a few times before entering her.

_Focus, focus._ Loki was thinking to himself and Jane worked to keep her shield intact as well while he thrust into her.

“This is weird.” Jane said after a moment.

Loki’s brain flooded with insecurities and Jane laughed and kissed him.

“No, not you. This whole shield business. I feel like I’m not myself.” Jane said.

“We can stop.” Loki said.

“I really just want to have sex with _you_.” Jane said, emphasizing the ‘you’. “If that makes sense.”

“It does.” Loki thought.

He pulled out of her and kissed her again, softly, before moving to lie beside her.

“Do you mind to leave my brain?” he asked.

Jane shook her head and was nearly out when he let the thought slip about Thor’s funeral.

“So that’s why we’re practicing?” Jane said, dropping her shield. “You could have just said.”

Loki managed to think, “You know that’s not true,” before Jane pulled herself from his mind entirely.

“I didn’t even think you would go, to be honest.” Jane said, rubbing her eyes as Loki recovered from the pain. He dropped his shield as well while he did and they turned Jötunn since part of their flesh still touched.

“Do you know how to run a regal Æsir funeral?” Loki said. “Sif won’t be able to do it. It falls to me, regardless of my _feelings_ on the issue.”

“Heimdall is ward. It falls to him at the moment.” Jane said.

Loki looked at her pointedly and she realized Heimdall would not be emotionally equipped to handle the funeral either.

“When did you get so considerate, Loki?” she exclaimed.

“Have you forgotten my peaceful rule of Yggdrasil of more than a year so easily? No wars; no invasions; excellent economy.” He replied with a shrug. “Everyone was happy until I realized I couldn’t see the fates of the Norns and knew that Valfreyja would figure it out.”

“Is that why you made me move here, to buy yourself more time with a distraction for Valfreyja?”

“No, but I like the way you think.” Loki grinned. “Tragically I did it to anger Thor. I couldn’t send you to Vanaheim until you were Asgardian, and until you were there, I had not had the ability to read your journals. So I did not realize at the time that I had sent the only other intelligent person on Asgard to her presumed death.”

“My presumed death? On Vanaheim?” Jane asked.

“Yes, people go missing on Vanaheim all the time.” Loki said.

“I doubt they’re dead. Probably just shifted into an animal for Valfreyja’s amusement.” Jane said bitterly. “But you talked to me all the time. You knew I was intelligent before reading my journals.”

“Not really. I knew you liked learning, but you were so eager to impress Odin that I did not know what to trust about you. Besides, I was trying to find your weaknesses, not your strengths.” Loki shrugged. “I might be getting soft, too. I truly underestimated Sif, as it happens. I was so certain of her loyalty to Odin, but she is an excellent betrayer, I must admit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her friendship with Valfreyja?” Loki said. “You didn’t know? I suppose you were mortal then.”

“No, but something happened on Vanaheim to her. She was genuinely afraid.” Jane said. “Did Thor know?”

“Yes,” Loki said. “I think it was all his idea.”

“What was?”

“The lie about Sif marrying Freyr.”

“Heimdall must have known. He and Thor were too close and he could see too much not to know.” Jane said. She wondered why Heimdall would lie to her, but then realized Heimdall was likely awake and alone having just killed his close friend and king. “I need to go see him. He must be a wreck.”

“Fandral and Volstagg are with him.” Loki said.

“Are you projecting yourself to his chambers?”

“Yes, of course.” Loki said. “How else can I know what’s going on?”

“That’s terrible, Loki. You have to stop! People deserve their privacy.” Jane said, pushing away the idea of him spying on her for a year.

“Jane, I am not being serious.” Loki said.

“I don’t believe you.” Jane said.

“Yes you do. Otherwise you’d be pushing into my brain.”

“Perhaps I’m demonstrating limits to you. Lead by example.” Jane smirked at Loki.

“You have no limits, Jane.” Loki said.

They were silent for a while, their red eyes staring at the ceiling.

“If Fandral and Volstagg are with Heimdall, who is with Sif?” Jane asked, breaking the silence.

“Hogun is here. He arrived a few hours ago.” Loki said. “A guard came to tell me on Heimdall’s orders, before you make any assumptions. I chose to let you sleep.”

“I see.” Jane said. “And the cured? We should probably go visit the healing rooms.”

“Yes, we probably should.” Loki said.

He slid his arm off of Jane’s stomach and they shrank to Æsir form. He could feel Jane’s eyes on him as he stood in the daylight of the room and smiled to himself. He spun around quickly to catch her in the act of staring and found she had transported herself directly in front of him. Jane emanated her shield and then leaned up to kiss him. He cupped her breast in one hand and ran his other hand over the curve of her hips. Jane pulled away a few moments later and Loki realized his hands were now touching fabric instead of shielded flesh.

“I’m ready to go.” Jane said, fully clothed in an Æsir dress she’d conjured from her discarded clothing. Loki walked to the bedside table and unfolded his tunic. He searched for his pants, finding them in the covers of the bed, and pulled his clothing on. He started to conjure his armor onto himself when Jane shook her head.

“We’re in mourning, but not at war. You cannot wear any armor. It would be disrespectful.” She said.

Loki knew this, but he didn’t feel like he was in mourning. Still, Jane was right. They had to maintain appearances, especially him. He had not technically been exonerated for his crimes—both on Midgard and those of false accusation.

“I will protect you.” Jane said.

Loki furrowed his brow, trying to feel her in his mind. She wasn’t there though. She had just guessed what he was thinking. _That’s a first._ He thought. He flashed Jane a grin and then headed for the door, conjuring on his boots as he went. Jane was right behind him and they headed directly for the healing rooms.

The palace remained scarce of life as most people were in their chambers resting or at the healing rooms. As Jane and Loki entered, they were greeted with a bustling of nurses and patients moving about. While they were determining where to begin, one of the first healers they cured recognized them and came over to them.

“Thank you.” She said bowing to both of them. “Heimdall explained that you saved us.”

“Lady Jane saved you.” Loki said. “I merely assisted as required.”

Jane said nothing, but smiled kindly at the healer. _Why would Loki say that?_ she wondered.

Others began to approach them, all thanking them for what they had done. Each time Loki deferred the credit to Jane. He wanted her alone to be the hero, Jane realized. He wanted her alone to gain the Æsir’s trust. _But why?_

* * *

Sif hurried down the corridor with Hogun in tow. She hadn’t stopped moving since she woke up. She wasn’t sure what would happen when she finally did, but she was not yet ready to learn. They’d just heard Loki and Jane were awake and in the healing rooms, so she was headed there. There was much to discuss for the funeral and for the trip to save Midgard. She was surprised they had slept so long, but perhaps it was the blood loss that lent to fatigue.

Hogun had arrived early that morning at her behest. She had sent a raven for him the night before with an arrival time and Asgardian Warrior code. He had come thinking there was outer-Yggdrasil skirmish they needed to investigate. Instead she and Heimdall greeted him at the Observatory and explained Thor was dead. Hogun assured them of his allegiance and that to his knowledge Vanaheim did not lie in wait of attack. Sif realized she must have looked terrible because Hogun had not left her side since. She had not even explained that her relationship with Thor had grown. Instead Hogun spoke of the Vanir capital politics causing more problems for the realm outside of Fólkvangr and how the harvest needed to be brought to Asgard so that there would be enough shipping jobs for the Vanir. Sif was grateful for the bureaucratic distractions, though as they walked in silence now, she realized how odd it was for Hogun to speak so much.

“I should probably warn you that Loki seems to fashion himself king now.” Sif said. “Also that he and Jane Foster are together.”

“Jane Foster of Midgard?” Hogun asked. “What interest could Loki have in a mortal?”

Sif stopped walking and faced Hogun. His narrow eyes searched her in their questioning way and Sif relaxed some with their familiarity. She had not seen him since the battle in his province well over a year ago.

“I have missed you, Hogun.” Sif said finally. Then she took a deep breath and explained Jane Foster to him.

“Jötunn?” Hogun whispered once Sif was finished.

She nodded.

“And you said the plague was from Jötunheim?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sif replied. “Believe me, I have made every possible conjecture to nearly catastrophic results. Jane and Loki were the only ones who worked against me to find the cure. Their loyalty to Asgard cannot be questioned.”

“Even Loki?” Hogun asked.

“He has changed. He possesses mjölnir now.” Sif explained.

Hogun’s eyes widened with shock.

“I promised to help Jane save Midgard after the funeral. Come and meet her again.” Sif said.

Hogun followed her to the healing rooms in thoughtful silence. Sif knew how confused he must be feeling. Even after her night’s rest, she still did not understand how the sequence of events had led to this. The tides of the universe were active again. It was the only explanation.

~.~.~

When they entered the healing rooms they found them filled with laughter. Jane was telling the story of how Thor fell to Midgard, glossing over the circumstances that led him there and focusing only on his lack of cultural understanding. Sif did not see Loki at first, but soon noticed him in the crowd, laughing along with the others and watching with affection as Jane carried the crowd. Jane’s ease with them made it difficult to believe she was the same person who was terrified to speak the Æsir Oath in front of everyone.

Sif felt Hogun squeeze her hand for emotional support, but she found herself happy to hear this story. It was one Thor could never tell; a perspective of himself he could have never known. The crowd of healers and patients erupted in new laughter when Jane conjured a porcelain cup and threw it on the floor, shouting “Another!” in an uncanny imitation of Thor’s voice.

Shocked that Jane would use true magic so openly and that no one reacted in the slightest, Sif quickly looked at Loki for help. They could contain Jane’s secret to stay within this room if they acted now. When Loki met her eyes though, Sif realized this was all intentional. His gaze pierced her in a way that only Frigga’s could, and Sif knew that she had been wrong to think Loki was becoming the king. He smiled at Sif and nodded to Hogun, and then looked back at Jane. She was explaining what coffee was to the crowd. Sif remembered how Jane helped her during her unplanned toast on Vanaheim. She could repay the favor now. Even though Jane had forgiven her yesterday, she felt that she still needed to earn back her trust. It was especially the case if Loki truly was positioning Jane to become queen.

“May we try some coffee?” Sif asked.

Jane spun to face her and smiled. There was a passing flicker of sadness in her eyes, which Sif understood as grief.

“I remember the coffee on Midgard to be quite good. I do not think anyone here has tasted it, except Hogun.” Sif said.

The crowd murmured in agreement and Jane smiled at them.

“I will try. No promises that it will be perfect. Usually I’m half asleep when I make it.” Jane said with a laugh. She looked to Loki and added, “Please conjure some coffee mugs and milk.”

As Loki and Jane busied themselves in flashes of green light, Hogun whispered to Sif, “Why are you encouraging this?”

Sif squeezed his hand and whispered back, “Do you not see? Loki is positioning Jane to ascend the throne through a High Council vote. Jane wishes for a world with transparency and equality among the people. How could a warrior of Asgard not encourage that? It is what we fight for, is it not?”

Hogun contemplated this with a slow nod.

Verbal reactions to the coffee began to permeate through the crowd. Some loved it; some found it bitter and repulsive. Sif laughed and walked to the table where the mugs were, taking two coffees for Hogun and herself. She drank a sip and noted that it did not taste as good as it had on Midgard. She smiled and nodded to Jane regardless before moving closer to her.

“We need to organize the funeral now that you are awake.” Sif said softly.

“I know.” Jane said. “Loki is going to help. He has offered to run it, since he is the most trained in the rituals.”

Sif turned to find Loki next to her now.

“Come, Sif.” he said. “There is much to do.”

* * *

They had decided to keep the funeral insular and leave the portals closed for the time being. The date and time were set and advertised by the ravens throughout Asgard. Loki patiently assisted Sif in finding the correct flowers within the palace gardens and collecting water from each of the city’s waterfalls. In truth, he did not mind helping Sif. She was acting fiercely strong in his opinion, but he hoped her emotional breakdown would not come while he was with her. He could not grieve with her. He continued to feel no grief in Thor’s death. Instead he felt excitement for the realm. He felt Asgard was drawing its first clean breath after a long and weary storm.

While he and Sif finalized the ceremony, Jane, Heimdall and Fandral paid goodwill visits to every village on Asgard. He knew the Æsir would fear Jane’s true magic, but that was the tool to set her apart as the capable leader. The Æsir valued strength above all else. It had been Jane’s idea to go about demonstrating her powers in an entertaining way.

“Everyone loved Thor’s mirth.” She’d told Loki. “That is the way into Æsir hearts.”

As usual, Jane had been right.

Loki smiled at this thought now as he pulled Jane’s body against his, kissing her on the head lightly. They stood at the center of the bridge that served as the archway over Asgard’s canal system’s main exit. It was night, twenty minutes before Thor’s body would pass under them and out to the Ægir Sea to complete its journey over Stærsturfoss and down to the Sea of Space. Sif stood next to Loki and Heimdall next to Jane. The realm’s population spread out from them, their faces glowing in a pale white from the tiny orka spheres that suspended before them. It was the orka from the throne’s high lamp divided among the people, a symbol that the light this king’s reign was moving on to the afterlife. A new orka lamp would be installed at the coronation of the next ruler.

Neither Loki nor Jane held any orka. Jane had her bow in hand, and Loki was running the ceremony and thus held the royal scepter, Gungnir, though without possessing its full power as he had during his temporary reign years ago. He would use Gungnir to transfer Thor’s conscious soul to the afterlife. He wondered what formation Thor’s soul would take in the stars. If he would become a true constellation or just spread apart like most. He had only known one being to take on the form of a constellation in her death, and that was Jörmungandr. He peered down to the sea below, the dark waves quietly crashing into the canal lock. This was where Jörmungandr had died. He saw his vision blurring and quickly hid his tears with magic. One day he would have to tell Jane that terrible story, but not this day. He took a deep breath and repeated the funeral speech once in his head.

“It’s time.” He said.

At Loki’s words, Sif and Heimdall took the two fire torches from their holders and lit the cauldron in front of Loki and Jane. These torches were the ones that had helmed the entrance to the Royal Quarters and Sif wondered if Jane would change them out to orka once she was queen. Based on the reluctant fear of fire that she and Loki portrayed now, it seemed likely.

Once the center cauldron was lit, Sif and Heimdall passed the torches down the line to the guards who manned the next closest cauldrons. This continued until the bridge and canal were aglow with firelight. As the scent of fire encompassed her, Sif began to cry. This was Thor’s scent. The scent of royalty. She looked again to Jane and Loki, who stood close together without touching. It was then when it hit her fully how much things had changed. Fire would kill them. The Æsir royalty would no longer smell this way.

Loki began the funeral speech. His voice held both emotion and command and Sif found herself believing that even Loki grieved for Thor. She tuned back in to the actual words as Loki came to the close.

“Where the brave shall live forever. Nor shall we mourn, but rejoice for those that have died the glorious death.” Loki finished.

A guard opened the canal lock and the longboat began its descent to the Ægir. The Æsir along the canal threw flowers and water from the citadel’s waterfalls onto the longboat as it passed. Many had waited all day for these front-row spots. When the longboat passed beneath them on the bridge, Loki placed his hand on Sif’s shoulder. She looked up at him, surprised by the gesture, especially after how she had treated him. He was not looking at her though, but rather ahead to the dark sky beyond the Ægir Sea.

Sif could not bear to look down on Thor’s body as his longboat emerged from under the bridge. She had positioned him with his sword from their teenage years, before he was gifted mjölnir by Odin. After doing so, when only the guards remained by the longboat, Sif had kissed Thor for a final time. That was the last visual memory she wanted of him, so she continued to watch Loki. He had removed his hand from her shoulder by then. After a few minutes he pushed Gungnir forward and Jane lit an arrow in the fire before them. Sif watched as Jane fired the arrow without even pulling the bowstring. She was guiding it with magic and it landed easily in the kindling of Thor’s longboat. Loki pulled back Gungnir and a flurry of arrows flew to light the additional longboats. Each boat represented one of Thor’s quinquagenaries.

Sif saw Jane take Loki’s hand in her own, neither changing to Jötunn form as Loki laced his fingers through Jane’s. Sif had to look away from their intimacy. The longboats were nearly to Stæsturfoss. She held her breath as Thor’s longboat disappeared over the falls. She could hear Loki slam Gungnir onto the bridge, an electrical current shot from where they stood down to the water below. It moved instantly to the longboat, finding Thor’s conscious soul and transitioning it in a bolt of lightning into the afterlife.

Loki let out a quiet laugh as many Æsir gasped. _Of course Thor would transition through lightning._ He thought.

Jane squeezed his hand and he looked down at her, unable to hide his smirk. She smiled at him for less than a second before covering their amused reactions up with magic so they both appeared solemn.

Sif released her orka sphere into the air and Heimdall did the same. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg released their orka as well, and soon the realm was bathed in orka light.

It reminded Jane of Frigga’s funeral and of Jötunheim all at once, and she found herself emotionally overcome for the first time since Thor’s death. Then she thought of Erik, who was probably dead from black fire by now, and she hardened herself with impatience. Midgard needed her. Her temporary obligation here was fulfilled.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Songs for this chapter: “I Have to Go North” by Ramin Djawadi; “Battle for New York” by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

Heimdall sent the Bifröst portal directly to Avengers Tower at Jane’s request. Jane, Sif, and Fandral set down on the quinjet landing pad, which was shrouded in a steady black rain. They had elected not to involve Hogun since he was Vanir and no one knew how Black Fire would affect him. Volstagg, of course, was susceptible to becoming re-infected on Midgard, so he remained with his family on Asgard. Fandral felt he needed to see the curing through on every affected realm and Sif had promised Jane she would come here. Jane had made her and Fandral both drink some of the cure before they left Asgard, expressing that they did not know enough and it was not worth the risk of them developing it later on. The truth was though, that at this point, Jane was fairly certain Sif was the carrier, and as such she could not risk her spreading the plague again.

“Something is not right.” Sif said.

“What do you mean?” Fandral asked.

“I sense more is here than meets the eye.” Sif said. “Jane, can you see anything with your Jötunn vision?”

Jane could not see anything unusual, so she shifted her vision to the molecular level and saw that a quinjet was parked on Tony’s landing pad, but was cloaked. Almost as quickly as she noticed this, a familiar yet unexpected face emerged to greet them from the quinjet, which uncloaked as he exited the plane. Jane blinked a few times, certain she was seeing an illusion.

Agent Phil Coulson’s eyes searched them as if he was looking for someone in particular and Jane immediately thought he was checking for Loki, who was banned from Midgard indefinitely.

“Where is Thor?” Agent Coulson asked calmly as he approached the trio.

Jane felt momentarily ashamed that her thoughts were so fixated she had forgotten the bond he and Thor had shared. Thor had told her a few times, always with great sadness, about how Loki had murdered Coulson before the Battle of New York. Jane had grieved for him, despite never really liking him. Yet here he was, alive. She remembered that Loki too had thought he was dead when they were on Alfheim.

“Thor died a warrior’s death. He is with his ancestors now, Phil.” Sif said, using the name he had told her to call him the time they captured Lorelei together on Midgard. The silencer was still attached to her hip belt now as a reminder of her failure. Sif had told no one of Phil’s back-from-the-dead status, especially since it involved Kree blood, a forbidden substance on Asgard. She wondered how much Jane knew.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Coulson said, looking between Sif and Jane.

“Sorry, but I thought you died?” Jane said finally.

Coulson laughed and said, “I did.”

Jane waited for more explanation, but he just motioned for them to follow him inside the now uncloaked quinjet. Sif followed him without hesitation, almost showing a level of comfort in his leadership, so Jane went along with it. Really she just wanted to find Tony to see how he and Bruce had progressed on the cure reproduction. Between Bruce’s unrivaled expertise and JARVIS’s abilities, she felt confident, despite the steady black rain outside the quinjet.

“Director Hill will be with you shortly. Please have a seat.” Coulson said.

Jane knew better than to push for more information about the situation. As they found spots on the jump seats, she instead asked, “Where’s Tony? Is he okay?”

“More than okay, Foster.” Tony’s voice filled the cargo bay through a PA system. “I think I figured out how to fix this.”

“Really? Easy solution or hard?” Jane asked into the quinjet bay.

“If Thor’s with you then it should be easy. Is Hammer Boy there? I don’t have visual.”

“Thor is not with us.” Jane said. “He died.”

“What?” Tony’s voice pitched higher than normal.

“I think you’re going to need to come in to finish this initiative, Mr. Stark.” Director Maria Hill said as she entered the cargo bay.

“On my own building in this weather? I’m good inside, but thanks.” Tony said, even though Jane could feel them clearly taking off. She looked at Director Hill with alarm, but she ignored her.

“We’re leaving, Mr. Stark. We have what we were waiting for.” Director Hill said.

“I’m nearly done here, Maria. You send Jane to me and we’ll have this finished lickity split.”

Director Hill looked at Jane.

“Dr. Foster, welcome back to Earth. The last time you were here you broke international law by engaging in space travel during a global airspace restriction. I must inform you that you are an international fugitive. Tony says you have the cure. Should you cooperate with us, we will lift these charges.” She said, pausing for emphasis before she asked, “Do you have the cure?”

“I am the cure.” Jane stated, remembering how last time she was on Midgard Erik tried to take her into S.H.I.E.L.D. and told her space was closed for travel. She realized she needed to get into Tony’s protection and out of this quinjet before they arrested her. Who knew what alien tech they had for handcuffs. “At least a major chunk of it. But I need Tony’s lab.”

She could see Hill’s hesitation. She’d never really trusted Hill, let alone liked her all that much. She held all the power here though if this were to go peacefully.

“I can’t move these instruments and they won’t work in your jet regardless.” Tony said.

“Fine.” Hill said after some thought. “Dr. Foster, you are authorized to go to Avengers Tower to complete this operation. We will figure out a way to substitute Thor’s role in the plan.”

“Thor’s role?” Jane asked.

“Yes. He can control the weather, can’t he?” Hill said.

Jane looked at Sif.

“Yes,” Sif said. “On Midgard especially he could. Mostly isolated and with the use of mjölnir.”

“Do you need mjölnir?” Fandral asked.

Jane shot him a look.

“We know Loki is alive, Dr. Foster.” Coulson said. His soft spoken tone hinted at no malice.

“Is Loki in possession of the hammer now? Does it pass on like an inheritance?” Hill asked.

“Mjölnir belongs to whomever is worthy of it.” Sif explained. “Loki’s nature has changed in the recent events. He must now be worthy because he possesses mjölnir.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Hill said.

“This is irrelevant.” Jane said. “Loki is forbidden on Midgard and therefore mjölnir is a moot point. What is the next option?”

“I might have something.” Hill said. “I’ll need to make a phone call.”

“Perfect,” Jane said. She stood and addressed her Æsir companions, “See that Director Hill gets the assistance she needs. I am going to finalize the cure solution with Tony.”

They nodded and Jane transported herself as Hill was turning to speak to her.

~.~.~

“Thought you’d never get here, kid.” Tony smiled as Jane pieced herself together after landing in the middle of his dining table.

“You moved your table.” She said.

“Feng shui and the like. My bad. I’m not really sure how your powers work. And hey, sorry about Thor. I know he was important to you.”

“Thanks,” Jane said, meeting Tony’s eyes. They were kind and filled with a genuine sorrow. “Is the comm. still connected to the quinjet?”

“No. Turned it off once you said you were coming. You need me to turn it back on?”

“No.” Jane said quickly. She looked around the room and saw no one.

“Pepper’s in DC. Bruce and Erik are downstairs in the lab.” Tony explained.

Jane threw her arms around Tony without warning and murmured, “Sorry.”

Tony pulled her hard body against his, a reminder that she was no longer human, and let her stay wrapped in his arms for a long moment. He could feel her shaking and realized she had begun to sob.

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay.” Tony said softly. “Actually no. Fuck that bullshit. It’s going to suck. It won’t ever stop sucking. I wish I could tell you something better. Losing people you love sucks.”

Jane pulled away from Tony and wiped her face. She knew death sucked. She knew death quite intimately.

“I need water.” Jane said. “And thanks. I think that truly I am more frightened than anything.”

“Frightened?” Tony asked, moving towards the kitchen. “Of what? The Black Death?”

“No. Of my future.” Jane said quietly.

Tony raised an eyebrow.

“I’m set to be queen.” Jane said. “Only the Triad and the Norns know. And now you. And Loki keeps mentioning it since he read my mind.”

“He’s so pleasantly unintrusive.” Tony rolled his eyes and ignored the mention of whatever the Triad and the Norns were, instead asking, “Queen? Of Asgard?”

“Yeah.” Jane said. She now regretted how open she had been with Tony. Seeing him had unlatched the gate inside of her closing off the grief of Thor’s death. She had not realized how upset she was until that moment, and it dawned on her finally that she had been hiding it from Loki to protect him from the pain she knew he would feel in time.

“What do mean by ‘set’? Shouldn’t it fall to Loki by succession?”

“Yes and no.” Jane said. “By Asgardian law, if no pure heir exists, an assumed heir can be appointed.”

“So, someone has to appoint Loki?”

“Or me.” Jane said.

“I could be an assumed heir.” Tony grinned, handing Jane a glass of water. The liquid was a translucent gray.

“This is water?”

“Welcome to Earth, Queen Jane.” Tony said.

“Ha, ha.” Jane smiled. “You’re not an Asgard citizen, so, no, you could not be an assumed heir.”

“And you are?”

“Yes.” Jane said and looked again at the water. “Is this Black Fire?”

“Kind of,” Tony frowned. “It was. Now it’s the blood mixture you gave me on Jötunheim.”

“I thought I smelled Skaði.” Jane teased, sniffing the liquid. “So, is that the plan then? Infiltrate the water supplies with the cure?”

“Sort of. Come downstairs and we’ll explain. It’s a little more complicated since we need to affect the whole Earth, not just places with water supply.”

“The whole Earth? Coulson and Hill weren’t sick.” Jane said and followed him to the elevator, leaving the water glass behind, undrunk.

“Yeah, it’s faster moving here. Our bodies get it and die with 72 hours on average. It doesn’t affect all blood types though. Any negative blood types are immune from what we can tell. You’re looking at an O negative right now.”

“Fascinating. Are the dead coming back as sentients here, too?”

“You mean the zombie apocalypse?” Tony laughed as they exited the elevator into his massive high tech lab. “Oh yeah. That’s a zoo. People are forming factions and everything. All the uninfected are basically on lockdown. It’s sort of epic. You know, in a bad way.”

“It sounds horrible.” Jane said as the elevator opened up into one of the Tower’s floor sized laboratories.

There were no windows in the lab and Jane wondered what Manhattan looked like. She had not taken notice before other than the dark sky and black rain. She would have to clean up Asgard’s seas. Clearly they were flowing down to Midgard through the under-atmosphere.

“Jane!” Erik exclaimed, pulling the pen out of his mouth.

“Erik!” Jane ran to him in short, graceful leaps, not bothering to hide her true self from him this time.

“Tony said you were different.” Erik said as he gave her a long hug. “But you are not so different.”

“Thanks,” Jane smiled. “But I truly am. It’s okay though. For the best, really.”

“I’m glad to hear.” Erik said.

“So, what are you working on?” Jane asked. “And where’s Dr. Banner?”

“Over here.” Bruce called from the far corner. “Our instruments can’t be close to each other due to electromagnetic interference.”

Jane nodded in understanding and smiled in his direction.

Erik began to explain what they were working on. It was completely out of both men’s standard scopes, as well as hers, but desperate times called for whatever genius they could find.

“So, you’re going to release the cure into the rain?” Jane summarized. “Will that work?”

“Theoretically yes.” Erik said.

“I’m not sure.” Jane said. “On Asgard we had to administer the cure directly into the bloodstream. The Jötunn writings were very clear about that.”

“We’re not from Asgard.” Tony said. “Your Frost Giants didn’t write about the humans.”

“No...” Jane said, her mind switching into high gear. “No. So, then maybe... Has it been tested?”

“Yes.” Erik said.

“On who or what?” Jane asked.

“Me.” Erik said. “And Bruce. And Director Hill.”

“You were all infected?” Jane asked, horrified. “Was it painful?”

“Jane, don’t ask that.” Bruce said. “You don’t want to know the answer.”

“What about Darcy?” Jane asked Erik.

Erik shook his head solemnly, implying she was infected.

“Okay,” Jane said. “How can I help?”

“You bring the mixture of blood with you? I couldn’t successfully copy more than one batch with my sample.” Tony said.

Jane pulled the sealed jar of her and Loki’s blood seemingly from thin air. She’d be concealing it for safe keeping on the journey there and then to hide it from Coulson and Hill’s immediate grasp.

Erik stared at this action.

“That’s nothing, Selvig!” Tony said.

“Okay, use this to copy. I don’t have more, so I’d have to go back for it.” Jane said. “So don’t waste it.”

“I don’t waste.” Tony said.

Jane eyed him and he grinned.

“Fine. Get moving. Let me see what these instruments are exactly.” Jane said and began to examine the contraption Erik was tinkering with. She was completely out of her area of expertise, but the machine looked like it was not meant to create rain, rather atmosphere.

“There’s no way.” Jane said. “This is too small. We’re talking about creating an atmosphere for the entire planet. Even with the addition of orka, this is too small for the scale we need.”

“We know.” Erik said.

“The production to scale will take months at minimum. That’s without any testing.” Jane continued.

“We know.” Bruce said.

“We don’t have time for that! What’s the actual plan? Because this isn’t going to work.” Jane said.

“Listen, Foster, I am extremely aware this planet is dying.” Tony said sternly. “I could have released the solution I had into NYC’s water supply, but then what? The cure doesn’t stop you from getting infected again. We have to heal everyone at the same time. Every living creature is afflicted. The oceans are chock full of zombie krill. There isn’t an easy solution.”

“I am not asking for it to be easy, Tony.” Jane said, her voice becoming a commanding growl. “But what you have now isn’t even a solution.”

“We were relying on Thor’s powers, okay!” Tony shouted.

“Thor couldn’t even do what you’re asking!” Jane countered. “He was limited to isolated areas. The power was that he could limit it regionally so the rest of a realm remained unaffected. But it was all drawn from mjölnir and Loki wields the hammer differently. Thor was just an Æsir without his hammer, it’s not like had any special magic.”

As Jane finished that thought she realized that there might be another solution.

“Oh.” She said.

“What?” Erik asked. He knew the expression she wore meant her brain was cooking up an epiphany.

“Magic.” Jane said. “At the molecular level.”

“How would it work?” Bruce asked as he joined the group, sensing the yelling had finally subsided.

“I can control atoms, move them.” Jane explained. “I could attempt to introduce the cure into the current atmosphere. It hasn’t stopped raining since it started, right?”

“Nonstop.” Tony confirmed.

“What about the uninfected people, like you, Tony?” Jane asked. “Nál warned that Jötunn blood could kill.”

“I think we have to risk it.” Tony said.

“Jane, can you really control the whole atmosphere?” Erik asked.

“Not at once. We’d need Loki, and even then, he and I aren’t strong enough to do it all at once.”

“So you’re limited like Thor?” Tony asked.

“Yeah,” Jane frowned, her excitement dying. They were back to square one.

“Sir, Director Hill is on the line.” JARVIS said.

“Patch her through.” Tony said.

“What’s your progress, Tony?” Direct Hill asked.

“Hit a roadblock. We need something that can control the entire Earth’s atmosphere at once.” Tony said. “Got any hidden R&D that I haven’t hacked into yet?”

“I think I have better than that.” Hill said. “I’ve given her your address, but she’ll probably fly there. She should arrive shortly, since she’s only coming from Salem Center, New York.”

“That upstate?” Tony asked.

“Westchester” Hill said.

“Who is _she_?” Jane asked.

“Her name’s Ororo Munroe. She has the X-Gene, so be extra nice to her.” Hill said. “And no confined spaces, Charles warned.”

“I have Banner here full time.” Tony replied. “We don’t do confinement.”

Bruce gave Jane a small smile, which she returned.

“Another thing, all of you, don’t mention Loki. She hates him from way back.” Hill said.

“Who doesn’t?” Tony said and gave Jane a look.

Jane narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing. She had no idea how to explain her relationship with Loki to Erik, and there was no time for it now. Just then the electricity flickered off for a quick moment before coming back on.

“Sir, there is an unauthorized visitor on the helipad.” JARVIS said.

“Think our girl’s here, Maria.” Tony said. “Chat later.”

JARVIS cut the connection and Tony looked at Jane.

“Shall we go meet Miss Munroe?” he said.

“See you up there.” Jane said.

Tony laughed at the others’ surprise as Jane dematerialized in front of them.

When Jane transported to the roof, she was greeted by a familiar face in the middle of Bifröst burn marks. She quickly surmised the lights flickering had been the arc reactor interference from the Bifröst Tony always complained about.

“What are you doing here?” Jane asked Skaði.

“Loki didn’t think the jar would be enough, so he asked me to help since he’s banned from Midgard.” Skaði said. “Plus I owe you.”

“Why do you owe me?” Jane asked. She still suspected that Skaði had something to do with the initial release of the Black Fire.

“It’s complicated.” Skaði said. “But I want to help.”

Jane eyed her warily. She could definitely use the help.

“Okay, but I want an explanation afterward.” Jane said. “Is Loki safe?”

“Yes,” Skaði said. “He is not on Asgard but he is safe.”

“Good,” Jane said.

“You really care for him.” Skaði said softly. “He has changed. I think you changed him.”

“We changed each other.” Jane said.

“You’re not at all who I was expecting.” Tony said, interrupting their admissions. He hovered just over the helipad in his Iron Man suit. “How are you, Skaði?”

“Fine. Glad you’re safe, mortal.” Skaði smiled. “Even if you didn’t say goodbye.”

“You hate goodbyes.” Tony teased.

The two laughed and Jane looked away, out over the quiet city. A dark mass approached them from the clouds and Jane realized this must be Ororo. She could see her as having a shock of white hair and almost glowing white eyes. These in contrast to her dark skin and black leather outfit gave her an ethereal quality. Jane was certain she had never looked so stunning while flying through the air with Thor. The woman hardly looked human. Jane had never met someone with the X-Gene before though, so perhaps they all looked other worldly.

“Here she comes.” Jane said. She looked at Skaði and added quickly, “Don’t mention Loki around her.”

Skaði nodded as if mentioning Loki was a generally frowned upon idea anyway. Jane realized it was on Jötunheim. And on Midgard. And likely still with quite a few people on Asgard. She sighed to herself. Perhaps she and Frigga would be the only two people ever to actually love Loki. She wondered if that would be enough for him.

As Ororo landed on the helipad, Tony receded his facemask and gloves. He held out his hand to her and said, “Tony Stark. You must be Ororo Munroe?”

“Yes. Dr. Xavier said your team has a way to stop this.” Ororo said, waving her hand through the air to indicate the black rain. Her eyes had turned a human blue once she landed.

“We need your help though.” Tony said. “This is Dr. Jane Foster and Skaði Laufeyðottir, from Jötunheim. Together they form the cure.”

“We need an atmosphere to put it into though.” Jane said. “I can manipulate the molecules, but I can’t do the whole planet. Director Hill seems to think you can. Can you?”

Ororo smiled at Jane and said, “Of course I can. Why do you think they call me Storm?”

“Perfect!” Tony said. “Shall we go inside?”

“Yes, all the instruments are in the lab.” Jane said to Ororo.

“I don’t require anything to alter the atmosphere.” Ororo said then asked Jane, “Or is it for you? Are you not a mutant?”

“I’m not human.” Jane said. It was the first time she had said it aloud and it felt surprisingly natural to say. She quickly added, “The instruments are to infuse the cure solution into an artificial atmosphere.”

“What’s a mutant?” Skaði asked.

“It’s a human with different DNA.” Jane explained.

“So, not a human?” Skaði asked.

“No, still a human. Think...Heimdall. His DNA is different from most Æsir allowing him to have enhanced mental skills, but he’s still Æsir.” Jane said. She glanced at Ororo to make sure she had not misrepresented the definition of mutant. Ororo gave her a quick smile.

Skaði nodded in understanding and then looked at Ororo with fresh eyes.

“What’s the cure solution made of?” Ororo asked, ignoring Skaði’s curiosity.

“It is comprised of a mixture of our blood.” Skaði explained. “My bloodline is the catalyzing agent and her bloodline is the stabilizer. Otherwise my blood would kill the mortals, sorry, Humans.”

“I see. Well, let’s go inside then.” Ororo said.

Tony led them to the main elevator once they were inside.

“What is this place?” Ororo asked.

It’s my house.” Tony said.

“This is where you live, mortal? It’s nearly as over indulgent as Fólkvangr.” Skaði remarked.

Only Jane chuckled, the reference lost on everyone else.

“Not my fault I’m awesome.” Tony said as the elevator stopped on the lab floor.

“He’s just like Logan.” Ororo murmured to herself too low for Tony to hear.

Neither Jane nor Skaði acted like they had heard her, even though they had. The comment clearly was meant for Ororo alone.

“Is Ororo Munroe actually two people?” Bruce asked as they emerged into the lab.

“No. Extra special visitor from Jötunheim.” Tony said. “This is Skaði. She’s got the other bloodline to counter Jane’s. This is Ororo Munroe and she can create a planet-wide atmosphere. So, let’s get started.”

“How will the instruments work with the atmosphere I create?” Ororo asked Bruce and Erik. “I’ll have to be in the upper stratosphere in order to do this in the most controlled manner.”

“They’re made to fly.” Bruce said and then looked at Jane and Skaði. “But these are small. They’ll need a constant feed of the solution for dispersion.”

“You mean we’d need to be up there?” Jane asked.

“It seems like the most risk free option.” Bruce said. “That is, of course, only if you two can survive at that altitude and temperature.”

“We can definitely handle the temperature. The upper stratosphere is warmer anyway.” Jane said. “I think we’re okay for the pressure, too. If I conjure the oxygen molecules to us, then we should be able to breathe. But I can’t fly and maintain my form. Can you, Skaði?”

“I can’t fly at all.” She said.

“I can fly. And so can my extra suit.” Tony said.

“I thought you got rid of those for Pepper?” Jane asked.

Tony held an index finger over his sly grin of a mouth.

“Who’s Pepper?” Skaði asked.

“His girlfriend.” Jane said.

“Oh.” Skaði said and then laughed, shaking her head and looking at Tony, “You are quite a little eldjötunn, aren’t you?”

Jane rolled her eyes.

“So, it sounds like we’re ready?” Ororo said.

“I am.” Jane said.

“The instruments are all set.” Erik said.

“Let me get the extra suit for Jane.” Tony said. “I’ll fly you, Skaði.”

Skaði gave him a wink.

“Jane can transport herself if the empty suit fails. You can’t.” Tony explained.

Jane looked at Tony, “Did you copy the blood?”

“JARVIS?” Tony asked.

“The batches will be completed in seven minutes.” JARVIS said.

Tony nodded and went to a far corner of the lab.

“If there’s not enough blood copied, we’ll need orka if we’re just bleeding into the machine.” Jane said, mostly to Skaði. “I brought some with me.”

“As did I.” Skaði said.

“What’s orka?” Erik asked.

“Energy.” Jane said and revealed some in her hand. “It’s pure energy.”

“That’s amazing.” Erik said, his eyes fixated on the fluid sphere.

“This makes sense now.” Ororo said. “I could feel more energy on both of you, but it wasn’t part of your bodies.”

“You sense energy?” Bruce asked her.

“Yes,” she said and Bruce began to ask her more questions.

Out of nowhere an Iron Man suit flew up to them and stared at Jane. This reminded her of one of Loki’s self-duplications from their training Alfheim and she was overcome with anger. It was as intense as the irrational rage she felt the first time she had been exposed to Jötunn blood. All she wanted to do was destroy the suit, even if Tony was inside it. She punched it hard in the chest and it went flying across the room and crashed loudly into some equipment.

“What the hell, Foster!” Tony said, approaching from the other direction.

Jane glowered at him and he shrank back in fear. “Don’t do stuff like that.” She snarled.

“Easy, Jane.” Skaði said in Jötunn, approaching her slowly. Outbursts like this were common in Utgard and she gave her the usual talk down phrase. “Everything’s fine. No one is fighting today.”

“Jane,” Erik said harshly. “A word?”

Jane looked at Erik. His face was stern.

“What?” she asked in almost a snarl.

“Jane,” Bruce said cautiously. “Should we go to my room? It’s vibranium-plated.”

“No, I’m fine. I’m sorry. I just…” she trailed off and Skaði put a hand on her upper arm, causing them to begin to turn Jötunn before Jane emanated her shield.

“Five minutes until the batches are ready.” JARVIS said into the tense air.

“Sorry.” Jane said to Tony in a calm voice.

“It’s fine.” He said.

“Jane,” Erik began again.

“Yes, sorry, Erik. Let’s go somewhere more private to talk.” Jane said to him. She looked at Tony, “We’ll be upstairs. Let us know when everything is ready to go. And you should probably call Hill to tell her what’s happening.”

“Yes ma’am.” Tony said giving her a mock salute.

As the elevator door closed behind her and Erik, she could hear Tony say, “She’s so bossy now.” To her surprise, Skaði replied, “She’s nearly queen. It is her right.”

They rode in silence until entering the comforts of Tony’s living room. Then Erik began with his questions.

“What happened to you Jane?” he asked. “You’d never lose it like that before. Who are you now?”

“I’m a Jötunn. We’re defined by our uncontrollable rage.” Jane said flatly.

“It’s more than that.” Erik said. “You have magical abilities now? How did all of this happen? Tony’s debrief left quite a few details out.”

“Erik,” Jane shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t.” Erik said softly. “All this talk about Loki, I have to assume it’s to do with him.”

Jane looked away. Finally she whispered, “Yes. It’s to do with Loki.”

“He’s a liar, Jane. A manipulator. What has he made you do?”

Jane looked at Erik with an intensity that could only be born out of her Jötunn side.

“Jane, your eyes. They’re...red.” Erik managed to say. He sounded terrified.

“I’m Jötunn. That’s the color of my eyes.” Jane said evenly. “Everything else is a guise. Loki cannot manipulate me. He inadvertently turned me into his equal. The pupil always outshines the teacher.”

“What does that mean?”

“That I am more powerful than Loki.” Jane said and walked towards the western facing windows as she added, “A fact he’s more than aware of now.”

“Then why is he still alive?”

“Because I can’t just kill him. What would that make me?” Jane said as she watched the black rain litter the Hudson River.

“He’s done terrible things.” Erik said.

“Yes,” Jane said. She turned to face him. “And he’s done great things. He is complicated and dark, but he is brilliant.”

“What are you saying, Jane?” Erik asked. “Because it’s sounding like you have feelings for him.”

“I do.” Jane said. If she could not tell Erik the truth, then she would no longer know herself. “I love him, Erik. I admit it. I don’t care anymore. The realms all despise him, but they don’t know him.”

“And you do?”

“Tony didn’t explain that either?” Jane said with annoyance.

“You’re so angry now, Jane. Don’t you see this change in yourself? Has he blinded you to this?”

Jane sighed, fingering her Æsir garb as she pulled together her words.

“The universe is just like Earth, Erik. It’s full of wonders and impossibilities. But it’s cruel and unjust. We should all be angry.” Jane said. She looked Erik in the eyes directly and added, “I know the future and it is bleak. What I can do to lighten it, I will.”

“And Loki isn’t part of that bleakness?”

Jane shook her head with a smile.

“Loki is a light that shines in the darkest of realms. He is the orka, never created and never destroyed; just pure energy. He is part of who I am now, as I am part of who he is.”

“Jane,” Erik began. He said nothing more though.

“Erik, I love you. You’re like a father to me. You know this.” Jane said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “But I am not the same person who left Earth with Thor. I have seen too much. I have been through battle and diplomacy. I have changed. And I do not think these changes are bad. If the future continues as it is woven now, I will be Protector of the Realms when we return to Asgard.”

“What?”

“Yes. It is my fate.” Jane said.

“Fate? Jane, fate isn’t real.” Erik said as he shook his head, shrugging away from her touch.

“Erik, this is my reality. I am protecting the people I love.” Jane said, moving her hand back to her side. “And Loki is among that group.”

“All the realms are among that group from what you’re saying.” Erik said.

“Exactly,” Jane said.

They stood quietly in the living room, both looking at each other and then away.

“What happened to Thor?” Erik asked after a long moment.

“The disease killed him, in the end.” Jane said. It was the partial truth they all agreed to tell in order to protect Heimdall.

“How did he even get it?” Erik asked.

“From Odin, I guess. We don’t actually know how it came to Asgard to start with.” Jane said. She lowered her voice and added, “I have a couple ideas, though I cannot speak of them now.”

“I am sorry, Jane, that you have been through so much.” Erik said finally.

“If you are truly sorry, then you will support my decisions about my future.” Jane said, placing her hand back on his shoulder. It was what Thor often would do to gain someone’s support.

“I promise to try.” Erik said, moving his hand over hers. His blue eyes were earnest as he spoke.

“Thank you.” Jane said and Erik squeezed her hand.

“Dr. Selvig, Dr. Foster, they are ready for you in the lab.” JARVIS said.

“Thank you, JARVIS.” Erik said. He looked at Jane, “Ready to go save the world?”

“Which world?” Jane smiled.

~.~.~

“The blood’s all loaded in.” Bruce said to Jane as they looked down at the machine. “Can you carry it for the journey?”

“Yes, I will protect it.” Jane said.

“Great. Now we need you and Skaði to put these tubes into your veins—”

“Are they strong enough to penetrate our veins?” Jane interrupted.

“Already thought of that.” Skaði said. “We can use our claws to open them and then insert the tubing. It’s going to hurt though.”

“That’s fine.” Jane said. “We should do it here on the ground before we go up in the stratosphere. Is there a way to tube feed ourselves orka?”

“Yes,” Bruce said and held up a carbon fiber canister. “Will this contain it?”

“Let’s hope.” Jane said. She looked at Skaði who shrugged.

“Well what’s an experiment without some uncontrolled variables, right?” Bruce laughed wryly.

“Okay,” Jane said. “Let’s go to the helipad.”

Once they were all on the helipad, the four humans watched as Jane and Skaði held hands transformed into Jötunn form. From under the cover of the overhang, Bruce and Erik both let out a gasp. With a growl the Jötnar both extended their claws, slit open their wrists and wiped some blood on the other’s neck.

“Okay, give us the tubes.” Jane said, releasing Skaði’s hand and moving close enough to Bruce that he did not have to step into the black rain.

Bruce gave them the tubes for their blood first. Jane dug a wide hole in her vein, gritting her teeth against the pain. She could hear Skaði yelp in pain and see Tony’s hand coaxing her back in her peripheral. Jane quickly pushed the tube in before the vein could heal.

“Now for the orka.” She said.

Bruce handed her an open canister which she slid the orka into. Bruce capped the lid and then connected the tubing hose. All the valves were closed. Jane repeated the same process with a different vein, higher up on her arm. She needed one arm free to most accurately do magic as needed. She looked at Skaði who was still struggling with the first tube.

“Do you need help?” Jane asked. “If you open the vein, I can insert the tube for you.”

“Okay, yes.” Skaði said. “It hurts too much for me to do both.”

“It’s okay.” Jane said, motioning Skaði to come to her. Once she was next to her, Jane gave Skaði’s other arm a brief rub to comfort her. She took the tube from Skaði’s trembling hand and added, “Come on. Once it’s in you can’t feel it.”

Skaði nodded and moved her claw into position. Jane could see all the details of the interior of her wrist. It was entirely black inside and impossible to distinguish vein from tissue to the non-Jötunn eye. Skaði ripped into her vein and Jane said, “Wider.” Skaði howled in pain as she opened herself more and Jane shoved the tube in.

“Done.” Jane said.

Skaði caught her breath and Jane wondered if her magic was protecting her from pain or if she just had a much higher threshold than Skaði.

“Ready for the orka?” Jane asked.

“Please,” Skaði said.

“Your Vanir lifeforce is emanating. Are you still in pain?” Jane asked as the purplish glow came from Skaði’s wrist.

Ororo was staring at them with fascination, completely unfazed by their appearances and stony voices.

“It’s fading.” Skaði said.

“Bruce?” Jane said, reaching down for the other canister.

Skaði pulled the vials of orka she brought from her pocket and Jane helped her pour them into the canister. Bruce capped it and Jane met Skaði’s eye to see if she was ready. Skaði sliced into her other arm and Jane put in the tube. She opened the valve to give Skaði some orka, which quickly calmed her. Jane wondered if it was an addiction. _Perhaps that is why my pain tolerance is greater?_ Jane wondered. _Because I’m not addicted to orka._

Bruce double checked the tubing hoses’ connections to the instrument and then nodded to the three women. He handed Jane the atmospheric dispersion machine and gave her a tight smile. Jane thanked him, wondering if they were the only aliens he had seen besides the Chitauri, Loki, and Thor.

“When I say ‘Release’ that’s when you start with the dispersion.” Ororo said to Jane.

Jane nodded her understanding.

“All right, ladies,” Tony said, wrapping his arms around Skaði and controlling his empty suit to do the same to Jane. “Let’s go save the world again.”

Tony and the extra suit began to hover and Ororo levitated a moment before rocketing upwards.

“Good luck.” Erik said.

His words were a blur as Tony and the suit chased after Ororo in that moment. Jane breathed in the fast moving air, the black rain droplets piercing her hard Jötunn skin like pinpricks. She gripped onto the instrument and looked over at Skaði. Skaði’s expression too was one of joy. With her markings and facial structure so similar to Loki’s, it was impossible for Jane not to think of him and how much he would love this. _Though not the being carried by Tony part._ She mused, letting out a laugh.

Eventually they caught up to Ororo, who was hovering in the warmer air of the upper stratosphere. It felt like it was hardly below freezing up here. Jane peered down at the Earth, but the cloud layer of the troposphere was so dense and so vast that it looked only like a gray sphere beneath them.

Ororo’s eyes turned a glowing white and the wind speeds began to rapidly increase around them. Jane could feel Tony struggling to keep control of both the extra suit and himself. She shifted her vision to the molecular level and started to move the atoms around him and Skaði to form almost a vacuum of space that blocked the winds. She could see them outlined essentially with just dark matter. The empty suit felt secure around her again and she relaxed into just moving the atoms flying at them and ensuring a steady stream of oxygen atoms to their nasal regions.

Ororo soon introduced moisture to the wind and Jane had more atoms to contend with. After a few minutes, she was soaking wet and they were all completely shrouded in a white cloud.

“Release!” she heard Ororo call.

Jane moved to turn on the dispersion mechanism, but it was jammed.

“Release!” Ororo called again.

“It’s jammed!” Jane called. The wind carried her voice away though and she knew Ororo couldn’t hear her. She decided to try and push her mind into Ororo’s to communicate the problem. Perhaps she didn’t have Alfheim magic, but she was not normal. It was starting to work until Ororo pushed back.

 _What is she doing?_ Jane wondered.

“Release!” Ororo called again.

“It’s jammed.” Jane thought, hoping they were somehow linked mentally now.

“Then find another way.” Ororo thought back. “We’re running out of time.”

Jane cleared her mind and looked around her. Skaði appeared like she was about to pass out and Tony was hanging on as hard as he could. Jane redirected more oxygen atoms towards Skaði’s nostrils. The instrument still wouldn’t budge. Maybe if she could get the blood supply out of it she could disperse it herself. There had to be an easier solution. Loki’s face lingered in her mind a moment, his intense eyes staring at her as he said, “Use your strengths.”

The jam! It didn’t need to move because she could make it disappear. She quickly focused on the true source of the jam, which was a frozen piece.

“Hang on, Tony!” she yelled and then shifted her magic’s attention to the frozen part. She forced the H2O molecules to shake, exciting them enough to simulate a thermal change and causing them to drip off in liquid form. She pushed the lever again and the machine whirled to a start. As the bluish black filled the cloud, Jane put her energy’s focus towards Tony and Skaði again. She opened the orka valve for herself and motioned for Tony to do the same for Skaði. He was able to and some life began to return to Skaði.

After a couple of minutes the cloud was white again and Ororo called, “Release!”

Jane opened the valve to her blood hose and Skaði did the same. Their fresh blood surged into the depleted machine and Jane allowed herself to relax as the life drained from her. The cloud became a bruised color again and Jane felt herself beginning to fade. As her vision went black she could hear a voice yelling, “The orka!”


	20. Chapter 20

**_Songs for this chapter: “Dark Doo Wop” by MS MR and “Runaway” by AURORA_ **

* * *

Jane blinked awake, the sensation of a gentle warm breeze against her face. She was met by two bright blue eyes set into a dark face.

“You did well, Jane.” The owner of the eyes said. Her white hair fluttered in the front of her face and Jane processed that it was Ororo.

Jane looked down and saw that Ororo’s fingers were holding her orka canister valve in the open position. It had broken. Finally Jane looked around her. They were still in the upper stratosphere, but the air was clear again. In his Iron Man suit Tony held on to Skaði; her face read only relief at Jane’s waking up. Jane realized she was being cradled in Ororo’s arms and that both Tony’s extra suit and the instrument were gone.

“Did it work?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” Ororo said. “Let’s get back to the ground.”

She flew them downward, Tony and Skaði in close tow, and began to orbit until they were back over New York. How she figured that out, Jane had no idea. All Jane could see at this point in the troposphere was a mass of bluish-black cloud. They landed back on the Avengers Tower helipad and quickly went inside.

Bruce and Erik were waiting in the living room with tense body language. Ororo laid Jane on one of the massive couches. Tony placed Skaði on the opposite couch and hurried over to Jane to fix the valve on the orka canister with his Iron Man suit. Jane closed her eyes, exhaustion sweeping over her, and almost immediately fell asleep.

“Hill’s on the comm.” Bruce said once things settled.

“How did it go, Mr. Stark?” Director Hill’s voice said.

“We did it, Maria!” Tony said. “Send the Asgardians over for some celebration drinks.”

“How do we know it’s worked?” Hill asked.

“We wait.” Bruce said.

“Okay.” Hill said in such a way that everyone could imagine her nodding as she did. Then she added, “Don’t let Jane leave Earth.”

“Bye, Maria.” Tony said and JARVIS cut the connection. He looked at Skaði and asked, “What form will she heal more quickly in?”

“Æsir,” Skaði said as she cleaned Jane’s Jötunn blood from her neck shrinking to Vanir form. “It’s an extra layer of protection.”

Tony cleaned Skaði’s blood from Jane’s neck and watched her shrink beside him. He gently pushed some of her hair from her face and looked around for a blanket. After tucking one around Jane’s shoulders, Tony told JARVIS to call Pepper.

“Hey, you okay?” Pepper’s voice said.

“You’re on speaker, sorry.” Tony said. “Tell everyone we did it and to go outside in the new rain.”

“That’s great news. I will.” Pepper said with excitement.

“And, Pepper?”

“Yeah?”

“Come home, please.”

Pepper let out a laugh and said, “I’m already in flight. See you in an hour.”

“I love you.” Tony said.

“Oh, on speaker phone?” Pepper teased. “I love you, too.”

She hung up and Tony turned to Ororo.

“Thank you for your amazing gift.” He said to her. “The world is indebted to you.”

“Nothing new.” Ororo smiled. “But you said there are Asgardians coming?”

“Yeah, why?” Tony said, glancing at sleeping Jane.

“I don’t think I will stick around. My last encounter with them was warning enough to stay away.” She said.

“Fair enough,” Tony said, realizing this must be the reason they should not mention Loki to her. “But at least take something back with you as a sign of my gratitude. Lord knows Hill won’t give you anything. You like scotch? I have an excellent twenty-year single malt from this tiny Islay distillery. Peat for days.”

“That’s a kind offer, Mr. Stark, but I rarely drink.” Ororo said. She looked at Skaði and said, “I would be interested in taking some of the orka to study at the X-Mansion.”

“Oh,” Skaði said, somewhat uncomfortably. “It is not mine to share. Jane would need to approve it. I am no longer part of the ruling bloodline.”

“I see. That’s okay.” Ororo said. She looked at the group and said, “Tell Jane I said thank you. She was the one who really saved you, not me. Her abilities are quite unique and she is very brave. She reminds me a little of my friend Jean.”

“Thank you, we’ll let her know.” Erik said with a kind smile.

“Tell Director Hill to call Dr. Xavier if she needs me again. Let’s hope this worked.” Ororo said. “Goodbye.”

The group said goodbye to her and Tony walked her to the living room’s balcony. They passed the telescopes he’d bought in an attempt to lure Jane into working for Stark Industries and then he and Ororo shook hands and she flew north. As Tony watched her go, he heard someone come outside and turned to find Skaði. He smiled at her briefly and then looked through the glass walls of the tower to see Bruce effortlessly lifting up Jane and carrying her towards one of the guest bedrooms. Erik followed behind him closely, worry lines creasing his face.

“What is this?” Skaði asked.

Tony turned to find she was fingering one of the telescopes. He stepped a few paces towards her, closing the damp air between them.

“It’s a telescope, a tool to see space.” Tony said.

“Can you see Asgard?” she asked. She wondered if he could see Jötunheim, truly, and leaned down to peer through the logical end for her eye size.

“No, it’s too far away.” Tony said. “Do you not have telescopes?”

Skaði shook her head and explained, “Our eyesight is better than yours. Also, Jötunheim is not part of a galaxy, so there is not really much to see.”

Tony tried to comprehend such a level of unaided eyesight, but he could not. Instead he said, “Thanks for helping us today.”

“It is the least I can do.” Skaði said. Her voice sounded worried and she shifted her weight before asking, “Which Æsir are coming?”

“Sif and Fandral.” Tony said before grinning to add, “So you’ll have someone to play with.”

Skaði laughed and looked out over the city. It was bigger and busier than anything on the other realms. Seeing Fandral would be nice, but it was Sif she needed to speak to.

Just then a metal ship landed on Tony’s tower.

“Speak of the devil,” Tony said. His hand went to Skaði’s back and he led her inside the living room.

“Sir, the Asgardians and Director Hill have arrived.” JARVIS said.

“I saw. Let them in.” Tony said.

Bruce and Erik came into the living room from the hall that led to Jane’s guest room and Tony was reminded of how he had never furnished a room for Jane because he assumed she and Banner would be shacking up once she finally moved in. He knew Bruce liked her, and she blushed whenever Bruce came up, plus their non-verbal chemistry was uncanny. Even Pepper agreed. _Only Loki rivals it_ , Tony observed.

Tony had known Jane wouldn’t move in until she ended things with Thor, but when she messaged that she was moving to Asgard four months ago, he had abandoned any hope of her working for Stark Industries at all. How things had turned out, however, was nothing he could have predicted.

Tony moved close to Bruce and Erik and whispered, “No matter what, Hill isn’t taking Jane.”

“No one can contain Jane.” Skaði said from across the room with a smile. “Don’t worry, mortal.”

“Oh super vision _and_ hearing?” Tony called to her with a raised eyebrow.

Skaði flashed him a grin, but it faded as she looked past him to the approaching visitors, her eyes darkening slightly. Tony wondered what was wrong and hoped that Skaði hadn’t come here to pick a fight with the Asgardians. He and Pepper had just finished furbishing this floor.

“Welcome, welcome.” Tony said, spinning to face the visitors. He frowned when he saw Agent Coulson was with the group. _Why didn’t JARVIS announce him? Is it because he’s legally dead? Maybe a bug in the Ultron patch?_ He thought and shrugged it off. He motioned to Skaði and said, “This is Skaði from Jötunheim. Skaði, you know Sif and Fandral, but this is Maria Hill and Agent Coulson.”

“Hi, your name is Agent? Is that not a title on Midgard?” Skaði asked Coulson, reaching out her hand to shake his.

“Yes, it’s Agent.” Tony said.

“It’s Phil. Pleasure.” Coulson said, shaking her hard hand. She was composed differently than Sif and he wondered her race. He turned to Tony and said, “Pepper promised me mojitos since you dragged me from Puerto Rico to come here.”

“JARVIS, do we have any mint?” Tony asked.

“There are four types of mint growing in Dr. Banner’s hydroponic herb garden. Which species would you prefer?” JARVIS replied.

“Any of them is fine, JARVIS. Thank you.” Coulson said.

“Where’s Jane?” Hill asked.

“Asleep.” Erik replied with a hard voice.

“Remember our deal.” Hill said to him.

“She saved our planet. Deal’s off.” Bruce said.

“That’s unacceptable.” Hill said.

“You really don’t want to test my patience.” Bruce said.

Sif noticed that even though the mortal’s voice held no menace, Director Hill immediately backed down. There was a silent tension in the room until Coulson finally said, “I can make my own mojito, if you show me the bar.” As Tony led him to the living room’s wet bar, Skaði approached Sif.

“May I speak with you privately?” she asked.

Sif looked at her, unsure how to react.

“Why are you here?” Sif asked.

“Loki sent me.”

Sif sighed and looked at Fandral who merely shrugged. “Fine,” she said to Skaði.

Skaði led her to the balcony where she had been with Tony before and closed the door behind them. She sat on one of the lounge chairs and so Sif did the same, fighting the urge to grab the hilt of her sword.

“I wish to speak to you about your relationship with Valfreyja. About what she asked of you and why.” Skaði said. At Sif’s raised eyebrows she added, “Something isn’t right. I was investigating it for Queen Nál.”

Sif scrutinized Skaði’s concerned expression. Something was wrong, but Sif still had a hard time trusting her. Skaði was a liar, just like Loki. This was fact, yet Loki had saved them and not taken the throne for himself. She thought about how Fandral described the positive atmosphere in Utgard while he’d been there with Jane and Tony. How Fandral swore Asgard misjudged the realm and its inhabitants. Skaði was here, helping save Midgard despite having no interest in it beyond Jane.

If Thor were alive, she would defer to his judgment. But he was not and she would have to rely on Jane’s judgment, as everyone seemed to be doing, including Skaði.

“Does Jane trust you?” Sif asked finally.

“No. She does not trust either of us because of what we did for Valfreyja.” Skaði said. “That’s why I wish to speak with you about it. Gerðr is Jane’s blood. While no one in Jötunheim will support a union with Freyr after what he did to me, he still remains unchecked.”

“Unchecked? You mean Gersemi?” Sif asked, remembering her promise to the Vanir girl.

“Is he hurting his own family now? That’s worse than I realized.” Skaði said, looking away to the sky.

“I only learned of it after you left Fólkvangr that night.” Sif said without emotion. She looked the cloudy sky as well and finally said, “I apologize for attacking you. For not believing you. Many of the judgments you passed on me were true, and I had not faced that until later that night.”

Skaði was shocked at Sif’s admission and apology, but it only heightened her own guilt. After a long silence she finally managed to say, “It is I who needs to apologize. I do not think you will forgive me though.”

Sif looked at her questioningly.

“First you need to understand what happened to me with Freyr.” Skaði said. She had only told Nál this story. “I had been visiting Vanaheim long enough to have friends throughout and for Valfreyja to give me temporary guise as Vanir while I was there. One day she approached me about becoming fully Vanir. We negotiated that on Jötunheim I would remain Jötunn and of course at another Jötunn’s touch I would lose the guise, as you have seen with Jane and Loki, I am sure.”

“They don’t change form anymore. They can shield themselves.” Sif said.

Skaði smiled and said, “Yes, Jane is clever. You should have seen her fight me in my Vanir form. She can withstand a Vanir Light attack.”

“Yes, Fandral explained. It is really unbelievable.”

Skaði nodded and then continued, “So, I agreed to the guise. Shortly after I turned, Valfreyja gained intelligence that Asgard was planning another attack on Jötunheim. She said that if I married Freyr to unite our two realms, Vanaheim would come to Jötunheim’s aid. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I really felt at the time that it would be my fault if there was a war. So I complied with the idea as long as I did not have to bed him. Valfreyja agreed and stated that Freyr agreed as well.”

“Only he did not?” Sif asked. This story sounded too familiar to the one Valfreyja had talked her into and that Thor had agreed to. Sif looked at her and said, “Let me guess, you were not allowed to tell Nál about the threat?”

“Correct,” Skaði said. She looked at Sif and asked, “You couldn’t tell Odin?”

“Right, to protect him from blame if a Vanir-Jötunn war broke out.”

“Valfreyja never wanted a war.” Skaði said. “She wants a takeover. She wants the central power to shift to Vanaheim and for their realm to rule the others.”

“The Black Fire?” Sif asked. Loki’s warning to her when she threatened his execution ran through her mind: _This is Nál's doing. Skaði's doing. Valfreyja's doing. They wait in the shadows for the Æsir court to die._

“Freyr had some, I am unsure how or when he got it, but after Valfreyja refused to stop her brother from raping me, I started to spy on them—all of them. By the time Loki arrived, I had enough information to regain Nál’s trust. Freyr went to Asgard months later, just before Svartalfheim’s attack on Asgard, and Odin had him to the High Seat to take mead. That’s when he poisoned Odin’s drink with Black Fire.”

“But that was more than a year ago.” Sif pointed out. “The plague spreads much more rapidly than that.”

“Yes, that is where this becomes complicated. Odin should have contracted it as a carrier and passed it to Frigga, which would have killed her. Either they never had sex or she was killed by the Dark Elves before it could spread, because no one ever got it.”

“Odin had it though when we finally found him.” Sif said.

“In a carrier the disease still exists, it just develops at a slower rate. We can thank Loki for keeping Odin contained for so long. Truly Loki has saved Asgard twice from Black Fire.” Skaði said. She looked at Sif and said hesitantly, “But this is why I need to talk to you.”

Sif shifted her weight uneasily. The question she had asked herself countless times over the past months had just been answered. _I am a carrier._ She realized. Then she saw what did not add up. _Why would Skaði go back to Vanaheim after what happened to her there?_

“Valfreyja sent me a falcon to warn me that when Freyr had visited Odin, he learned that Asgard planned an attack on Jötunheim. She had a plan to help Jötunheim, she said, but it would require Black Fire.”

“Asgard was never planning to invade Jötunheim.” Sif said.

“I know that now, but at the time Utgard was still rebuilding after the Bifröst attack from Asgard. I couldn’t risk invasion.” Skaði replied. “Plus Valfreyja also warned that Freyr’s attention had turned to Gerðr, and that if I helped her she would forbid him to pursue the girl.”

“So you gave her the Black Fire?”

“No, she wanted me to administer it. The timing had to be precise. Nál received a strange letter from Valfreyja that negated the Triad’s agreements about Jane. Nál sent me to meet Jane and see what had changed on Vanaheim. I knew this was the opportunity to uphold my bargain with Valfreyja, so I slipped Black Fire in your and Jane’s wine at dinner.”

“Jane?” Sif asked in surprise.

“Yes, Valfreyja was unsure which one of you would have sex with Thor first. Carriers can only spread it through direct fluid exchange.” Skaði said. “Of course then Loki brought Jane to Jötunheim and she was cured in her transition to Jötunn.”

“Wait, so, you mean…” Sif could not finish the thought out loud. All along it had been she who infected Thor.

“I am truly sorry.” Skaði said. “If I could undo it all, I would. But Valfryeja is not finished and Jane is the only person I know who can defend themselves against her.”

“How can I ever trust you when you just admitted to attempted genocide of the Æsir?” Sif uttered.

“You cannot.” Skaði said. “But you need my knowledge of Vanaheim if any of us has a chance of surviving Valfreyja’s plots and her wrath.”

“I will let you tell Jane this yourself.” Sif said, shaking her head in disgust. “Do not speak to me again.”

Sif went inside and found Fandral quickly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I need to go home.”

“We must wait for Jane to recover. Have a drink and relax. Son of Coul’s mojitos are very good.”

“His name is Coulson.” Sif said defensively. As soon as she said it she laughed at herself. She had been telling Thor this for ages and he never fixed it.

“I don’t mind Son of Coul.” Coulson said in his calm voice as he put a translucent white drink in her hand. “Lady Sif, I have more blue alien questions for you. Walk with me?”

Sif nodded and followed him upstairs to a sitting area on the mezzanine. When she looked down at the living room, she noticed Fandral went outside to Skaði. He was holding her. Sif decided to wait for Jane’s lead before handling Skaði. She turned her attention to Coulson, who had begun asking specific questions about the Kree and their blood, and Sif worried something bigger than Valfreyja was afoot.

* * *

Jane woke in the middle of the night to find herself in a bed with the orka still connected to her veins. She shut the valve and pulled the tube from her wrist. As she used magic to heal the wound, she noticed she wasn’t alone. A projection of Loki lay next to her, his face propped on his hand, wearing an expression as if he’d been listening to her tell some funny story.

“How long have you been here?” she asked.

“An hour or so,” Loki said. “I had to see you. Heimdall said you nearly died?”

“Oh, don’t be overdramatic.” Jane laughed. “Though I guess that’s true.”

“Glad you didn’t die.” Loki grinned.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Jane smiled. “Skaði said you weren’t on Asgard?”

“Yes, official realm business. I’ll explain it all once you’re home.”

“Okay,” Jane said. She knew it had to do with who would get the Asgard throne and did not wish to broach the subject with Loki.

“You seem tired. You should get some rest.” Loki said.

“Wait,” Jane said. “Do you have any of our blood left there?”

“A jar’s worth, I think. Why?”

“I need you to do Midgard a favor.” Jane said. “Can you dilute it enough to disperse in the Ægir? I’m worried what we’ve done here won’t matter if Asgard’s seas are still infected.”

“I already started doing that as part of the wildlife restoration project.” Loki said with a smile. “One step ahead.”

“Good, thanks.” Jane said. “Everything else okay?”

“Everything is fine. Rest up and get back here. Seeing you without being able to touch you is maddening.”

Jane laughed and Loki hovered his projection over her body for long enough to make Jane wish he was actually there. He leaned down as if he was going to kiss her, then whispered, “Hurry up” just before he shimmered away her lips touch. Jane groaned into the darkness, almost wishing he’d not come, but ecstatic that he had.

She looked at the glowing clock by the bed to find it was 4:00AM. Doubting she could sleep more with this much orka coursing through her, she threw off the covers and left the bedroom. She figured her way to the central living room and found Bruce playing chess alone under the light of a floor lamp by the western facing wall of windows.

“Mind if I join you?” Jane said softly as to not wake anyone else.

“Not at all,” Bruce said and motioned for her to sit across from him. “No need to be quiet. We’re the only ones on this floor.”

Jane nodded and studied his game, seeing that he had reached a stalemate with himself. He started to reset the pieces and Jane helped. She wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not, but she ended up with the dark pieces.

“We’re missing a queen.” Bruce explained as he handed her a black poker chip.

“All bets are off then.” Jane joked flipping the poker chip in her fingers a few times before placing it where her queen should be.

Bruce laughed and moved his pawn two spaces forward to start the game.

“So, why can’t you sleep?” he asked her.

“I only need about an hour each day. If I have enough orka I can go for weeks.” Jane explained and moved her pawn to block his. “What about you?”

“Side effect of my gamma radiation experiment.” Bruce smiled weakly, moving his knight to f3. “Insomnia comes in bouts now.”

“I had insomnia bouts before my biological change. Perhaps you did, too?” Jane smiled and moved her knight to c6.

“I suppose I did.” Bruce laughed lightly.

“The curse of an overactive brain.” Jane laughed.

Bruce moved his open bishop and Jane moved hers.

“So what’s he like?” Bruce asked, moving a pawn to c3.

“Who?” Jane asked, positioning her bishop back to b6.

“Loki.” Bruce said and met her eyes. “I had sort of gathered he was alive and you two had some kind of relationship?”

“Sort of gathered?” Jane laughed. “Or Tony gave a boozy tell-all upon returning from Jötunheim?”

“Look, I know everyone is telling you to ditch him, but I’m not.” Bruce said calmly. He moved a pawn to d4 and continued, “I already gave the guy a beating, first of all, and secondly, it’s not my place to make any judgments on who people are or are not.”

“Thank you.” Jane said. She wanted to believe Bruce, but everyone hated Loki. She moved her queen into the opening her first move had left and then decided to answer his original question. “Loki is a lot like everyone else—insecure, egocentric, insomniac—except with some exacerbations. But his core is pure. Purer than Thor was in some ways.”

“No offense, but Loki was pretty hateful while he was here.” Bruce said and castled.

Jane moved her other knight out before saying, “His mind was being controlled by someone connected to the Chitauri while he was on Midgard. When Tony destroyed their ship it broke the link.”

“So Tony saved Loki?” Bruce laughed and shook his head in amusement. He moved his pawn to threaten her first knight.

“Yes.” Jane said, not laughing as she retreated her knight to its original spot on the board. After taking a pointed breath she said, “Loki is many things. What do you actually want to know?”

Bruce laughed lightly and Jane felt his body heat rise. She looked at him and realized he was blushing. Even his ears were flush. He slid his bishop back to d3 and Jane moved a pawn to d6. _Why is he so embarrassed?_ Jane wondered.

“I want to know what you like about him.” Bruce said finally. He moved his far pawn to h3. “I just… I just wondered.”

“Am I defending my decision to you, too?” Jane asked, moving her far pawn to mirror his move.

“No, no.” Bruce said in a tone that implied she’d misconstrued his words. He hesitated a moment and then pushed his queen one space forward, almost as if it were a gesture that he was not just opening the real play of the game, but also the conversation. He looked at Jane and took a deep breath before saying, “I am curious, as a man with a control issues, what someone like you—who I hold in high intellectual regard—finds appealing about a man who I know mostly as a mass murderer? Really, that’s all. Just curiosity.”

Jane laughed. She moved a pawn to g5 in a logistical threat of his knight. His embarrassment made sense now. They had only met twice before today. Both times Jane had been too in awe of meeting one her science heroes that she hadn’t noticed what Tony teased her about. Tony insisted Bruce was keen on her, beyond her research, but Jane had not believed him. She had been with Thor then anyway, which had blinded her to many things, not just Bruce. Now here he was, asking her about her new immortal boyfriend in a way that actually was about him. Rationally speaking, she wasn’t sure how she felt about Bruce, but her increased heart rate indicated otherwise.

“I’ve offended you.” Bruce said. “It’s late. I’m sorry.”

Jane met his brown eyes with her own and said, “No, you haven’t offended me. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Bruce asked after a moment as he moved his knight to h2.

Jane quickly moved her pawn to g4 and leaned forward to rest her chin on her hand.

“Before I became Jötunn, right before all of that, I was planning to leave Asgard and come work for Tony. Work beside you. I imagined…” Jane trailed off, smiling to herself at the nostalgia of the concept of working with Bruce. Sharing all her knowledge from Asgard with him. Spending countless hours beside him as they worked to improve the Earth. It was a nice fantasy.

Bruce’s hand slid across the table towards her quite tentatively. Jane put her hand over his, the flesh hot against her cold alien skin. Bruce took the pawn she’d just moved with his own and Jane laced her fingers into his. She quickly moved her rook one space to g8.

“What did you imagine, Jane?” Bruce asked in a low voice.

“Us changing the world. Nobel Peace prizes. Two geniuses making this realm a better place.” Jane smiled.

“Realm?” Bruce asked with raised eyebrows. He moved his bishop to take her pawn in h6 and Jane knew Loki would never make such a foolish error. She pulled her hand from Bruce’s in a casual way, as if she needed to push back her hair. In reality, she no longer wanted to touch him. She moved her knight to g4, already knowing she had won the game.

“Yes, realm. That is how we refer to it in the rest of Yggdrasil.” Jane said.

Bruce pulled his abandoned hand off the table and ran it through his wavy hair. The brown follicles were speckled with greys and Jane felt uncomfortable as she realized Bruce would likely be dead in less than a single Æsir birthday celebration. All that intelligence and potential would be gone. He moved his bishop back to e3 and Jane took his knight at h2 almost automatically. She already calculated all the options as to how this game could play out now that he’d made an error.

“I’m jealous of you.” Bruce said finally. “You’ve gotten different shot at life. You can be more than you could have here.”

“Earth is limiting.” Jane nodded in agreement. “Especially for a woman. But you could leave. I could bring you Asgard.”

“What could I do there?” Bruce asked. “They cannot alter me. I am what I am.”

“You are not rejected here, it seems.” Jane said and motioned to Tony’s living room.

“No,” Bruce said. He laughed to himself, took her knight with his king and said, “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Since you have in some ways committed mass murder, I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer. Exactly who you were referencing.” Jane replied easily and moved the poker chip queen to the row his king was now in.

“Okay, then what do you find appealing about me, if who I was referencing was that confusing for you?” Bruce asked.

“Everything but your thirteenth move.” Jane grinned. “Now this game is a bore, just killing time until it’s over and I win.”

“I was distracted.” Bruce protested.

“Sure,” Jane said. “Which is unappealing.”

Bruce scrunched up his nose and then asked, “Could you beat Loki?”

“Definitely.” Jane said. “We have never played chess, but we’re in the middle of a similar game played on Asgard called skák. He’s winning at the moment, but I am smarter and more creative than him. I think he is still processing that after I killed him.”

“Hang on, you what?” Bruce asked.

“Killed him.” Jane said. “He was in Æsir form, so it wasn’t lethal. It’s how he pretended to die before on Svartalfheim.”

“Could Loki beat me at chess?” Bruce asked, unable to fully understand what Jane meant by killing Loki, but reading clearly that she held the man in a special regard, even if she was willing to flirt with him right now. Bruce understood that some people just enjoyed flirting, like Natasha Romanoff, who had recently begun texting him selfies while holding children’s drawings of stick figures with the names of Russian biochemists written across the top.

Jane smiled and reused Bruce’s words from earlier that day, “Don’t ask that question. You don’t want to know the answer.”

Bruce laughed and said, “Fair enough.”

“You inspired so much of my thinking from your work seven years ago. It shaped who I became then.” Jane said in an earnest tone. “I wish I could turn back the clock and be wise enough to leave Thor in order to work with you. But I can’t. Fate has changed me. This is who I am now. I am the future of Asgard, of Yggdrasil. I cannot abandon them.”

Bruce watched her a moment after she finished speaking. Finally he looked down at the chess board and said, “You would checkmate with your bishop.”

He started moving the chess pieces to their cloth bag. Jane had made it clear he could no longer win.

“Wait,” Jane said. She took the poker chip and used magic to reconstruct its atoms into a queen piece.

Bruce looked at her with wide eyes.

“Doe eyes for that? You turn into a green rage monster.” Jane said.

“And you turn into a blue one.” Bruce said.

Jane laughed as she gently placed the new queen piece into the cloth bag. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. Finally she said, “If there were someone else who became, you know…”

“The other guy?” Bruce supplied.

“Right. If someone else did that, would you not feel an attachment to them?” Jane asked.

“I do.” Bruce said softly.

Jane looked at him, confused.

“You, Jane. When you get upset now, you change.” Bruce said.

“No, Bruce, I don’t. Not like you. I am Jötunn under Æsir guise. You are Human. You change elements of your genetic makeup, but I am another species to begin with.”

“But it’s a species defined by its uncontrollable rage. That’s very relatable.”

“No,” Jane said harshly. “My species is not defined by that. Asgard has defined us that way to use such a definition as justification to commit genocide against us.”

“Asgard committed genocide against your race?” Bruce said. He was standing now, shaking slightly.

“Yes, more than once they have attempted it with varying success. Loki is in many ways a victim of it. The Jötnar will never forget Odin’s cruel sin. Thankfully the callous nature of Odin’s regime is coming to a close.”

Jane looked at Bruce and realized he had started to lose control. Genocide was apparently a trigger for him. She stood up and looked around for a weapon. If anyone here could take him on, it was her, but she had not forgotten the story of Loki’s beating. Her Æsir form would be insufficient against his Hulk form’s strength.

“Run!” Bruce yelled, huddled in his human form for a few moments more. “Please Jane, run!”

Jane looked to the couch for Skaði’s blood. There was nothing staining the fabric. The roar of Bruce’s Hulk form filled her ears and she stumbled back in fear. He was massive in this form, almost taller than the Jötnar and definitely wider.

“Bruce?” she whispered. Loki’s voice did not fill her mind, but his words did. _Use your strengths._ Jane thought. She’d shut off Skaði’s and Loki’s oxygen, she could do the same to Bruce. She would have to be less intense and more precise though since she’d killed Skaði and Loki, and Bruce couldn’t die without really dying.

Bruce’s massive Hulk form was approaching her. She raised her hand and began to close in the atoms that would block the oxygen flow to his body. She focused on all of his arteries to expedite the process. After what felt like a very long time, but was less than a minute, Bruce fell to the ground, shrinking back to his normal size and changing from green to his pale flesh color. His clothing had ripped to shreds in the transformation and Jane grabbed a blanket to cover his bare skin.

She knelt beside his unconscious form, forcing extra oxygen atoms into his brain as she brushed loose waves of hair into place on his head. As time passed and he didn’t wake, Jane was certain she had put him in a permanent coma. Finally he came to, blinking and apologizing.

Jane threw her arms around his upper body and whispered, “I thought I destroyed you.”

Bruce hugged her back, still lying naked on the floor. He knew what it was like to think you damaged someone you cared about. He realized his fingers were combing through Jane’s hair and stopped himself. She loved Loki. He would not do things unwanted, even if they felt good. Even if she was not entirely against them. Even if Loki as a trusted life partner made little sense to him.

Jane sat up, releasing her grip on Bruce. She wiped stray tears from her face and asked, “Are you okay?”

Bruce nodded.

“Okay,” Jane whispered. Her hands moved to cradle his face and she was unsure exactly what she was doing. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” Bruce said. “No one’s ever pulled me out of it before. What did you do?”

He sat up as he asked, the blanket slipping to reveal his frail, hairy chest. Jane’s hands were still on his face and she thought to move them, but didn’t. She felt like she needed to touch him.

“I closed off the oxygen atoms from your arteries.” She said. “I wanted to make you pass out. So, I guess that’s it. You just have to pass out.”

Bruce nodded, “Sounds about right.” He pulled Jane’s hands from his face and held them in his own. After a moment he said, “You have always been brilliant, Jane. Yggdrasil just needs you more.”

“Thanks,” Jane said. “Truly.”

Bruce nodded and then said, “I’d walk you back to your room, but I am completely naked.”

Jane used magic to put Bruce’s shredded scraps of clothing back together. She handed him the shirt, pants, and boxers.

“Wow,” Bruce grinned as he inspected his clothes. “They’re cleaner than when I burst out of them. Tell me again why I am not begging you to stick around?”

“Because I’m an alien.” Jane smirked.

Bruce pulled on his shirt and laughed. Jane looked away while he pulled on his boxers and pants, folding the blanket to occupy her thoughts. Bruce stood and she quickly did too. He walked in the direction of her room and she slowed herself to stay at pace with him.

He stopped at her door and turned to face her.

“You know my room?” Jane asked.

“I brought you here earlier.” He explained. “Tony was preoccupied with Skaði and Erik is too physically weak.”

“You seem too frail.” Jane said. “No offense. I’m just really dense now, so I’m heavy.”

“You’re not so heavy.” Bruce grinned. “Anyway, goodnight.”

They stood there in front of her room’s closed door for a long moment before Jane finally nodded to him and went inside. After hearing him walk away, she lay on the bed and finally fully processed that she had just controlled the Hulk. The least controllable thing on Midgard and it had taken her only a minute to do. She looked at the clock to find it was not even 5:00AM yet. Closing her eyes she pushed her mind out to find Loki’s lifeforce. She saw he was back on Asgard, sitting in his study, and she projected herself into the chamber. His study was similar to hers, as Loki’s quarters mirrored Thor’s, and she stood by the balcony, looking out at the city of Asgard. After a moment she turned to Loki, who had set down his quill and was looking at her with a smile.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked.

“No,” Jane said. “Too much orka. I tried playing the Midgardian version of skák with Bruce, but he made for a boring opponent.”

Loki wiggled his eyebrows and said, “Well, he isn’t me.”

“No, he is not.” Jane said. “Though I would wager that I could beat you at chess as well.”

“Is that so? Well, I never play to win, only not to lose.” Loki said with a cheeky grin.

“Sounds like there’s a story to that.” Jane said. She knew there was—or there could be. The loom of the Norns showed a future war. A war Loki might play a critical role in revolving around the game of chess. The weave was unfinished though and already Thor’s thread in it had been removed. Loki must have seen this when he’d read her mind the morning after they’d battled the dead court.

“We shall see in time.” Loki said. “The Infinity Wars does have a nice ring to it. Give the Norns some credit there.”

“I don’t think they name it.” Jane laughed. “I think Nova Corps does.”

“Oh, don’t give them creativity points. That lot is full of dullards.” Loki moaned.

Jane smiled at him, glad she’d made the visit.

"Did you come for a reason?" Loki asked.

"I miss you." Jane said.

"Me too." Loki said softly. His expression changed suddenly and he stood up. "Hold on, you were playing chess with Bruce...Banner?"

"Yes," Jane said, feeling guilty.

"The green guy who beat me to a pulp?"

"That same guy. I mean, he was in human form." Jane said. "Mostly."

"Mostly?" Loki eyed her for damage.

"I changed him back."

Loki blinked a couple of times and then laughed before saying, "No, of course you did. The oxygen deprivation, right? That's so clever."

"You can't do it, can you?" Jane asked.

Loki shook his head.

Jane frowned. She wanted to apologize, but there was nothing to apologize for.

"It's okay, Jane. Really, it is acceptable to me that you are superior." Loki smiled. His voice deepened some when he added, "Extremely acceptable, in fact."

"Oh?" Jane raised an eyebrow at him provocatively.

"Extremely." Loki said, elongating the word and sliding his tongue over his lips once he finished speaking it. Jane wanted him desperately. It took all of her self-control not to conjure the dark energy around her and make a portal directly to his study.

"You're driving me crazy." she said. "The only person who can physically handle my body here is Bruce."

"Should I be concerned?" Loki teased.

"Extremely." Jane said.

Loki laughed and then stood very close to her illusion and whispered, "Better Bruce than Tony."

"Oh, but you like Tony." Jane protested.

"Precisely." Loki said. "He's so fun. Don't mess that up."

Jane laughed and shook her head, "I won't."

"And get back here already." Loki added. "When are you coming home?"

"If the plan worked, tomorrow morning, well, this morning as it's already morning." Jane said. "I'm inviting some key members back for a celebration feast."

"Bruce?" Loki prodded with a grin.

"He can't physically make the trip." Jane said. "At least not as Bruce. It's too dangerous."

"I was joking." Loki said flatly.

"Tony though. And Erik." Jane continued in the same tone. "You're going to have to be on your best behavior."

"I will be." Loki said. "Do you want me to invite any other realms?"

"Sure, Nál at the very least. And Valfreyja, I guess." Jane said frowning as she said Valfreyja's name. She would have to figure out a way to work with Vanaheim.

"Okay," Loki said. His voice seemed off, distant.

"You okay?"

"Yes," Loki smiled, refocusing on her. "So much is changing at once. Sometimes it just...processes."

Jane nodded in understanding.

"Send the ravens out and I'll tell Skaði as well. She's still here." Jane said.

"Yes ma'am." Loki said, mostly so he could see Jane roll her eyes. He shifted his weight and then added softly, "I hope what you guys did there worked."

"Me too" Jane said. She looked through the projection to the floor to ceiling window in her guest bedroom. "In fact, I think I'm going to check. I'll see you soon."

They both went to touch the other's cheek at the same time, laughing as Jane's illusion dissolved.

Loki turned back to the letter he was writing and let out a sigh. He decided to send the ravens first. At least then Nál could tell Jane the news in person.


	21. Chapter 21

**_Songs for this chapter: “Powerful” by Major Lazer, Tarrus Riley, Ellie Goulding; “Kill and Run” by Sia; and “Love Is Blindness” by Jack White_ **

* * *

Once they arrived on Asgard, Fandral took on Skaði as his guest and Sif went to her chambers to rest. Agent Coulson stayed on Earth to head back to his mission in Puerto Rico, so Jane was left to show Director Hill, Erik, and Tony and Pepper to the guest quarters. She then went directly to Loki’s chambers. The guards told her he was in his study and she hesitated just outside its entrance.

“Come in, Jane.” Loki said.

Jane entered to find him seated at his desk writing something.

“Should I come back later?” she asked.

Loki’s hand flourished out what could only be a signature and then waved to close and seal the letter with magic. He put it aside and turned to Jane with a warm smile.

“Not at all,” he said. “I’m at your disposal.”

Jane laughed.

“Success in Midgard, I hear?” he said.

“Yes,” Jane said. “I brought back some mortals, like I said before. Erik is here, so you’d better behave.”

“I will.” Loki said, holding his palms out with innocence.

“Good,” Jane said. She only had one driving reason to be here and she was unsure why she was stalling.

“Have you spoken to Nál?” Loki asked.

“Not yet. Heimdall mentioned I should find her when we arrived.” Jane said. “But I came straight here.”

Loki smiled at this.

“Should we perhaps go somewhere more comfortable, like your bedroom?” Jane asked.

“Are you tired?”

Jane offered him a smirk and shook her head slowly.

“Good.” Loki said.

He was in front of her now, having transported himself. He pushed her hair back and held her face, waiting for the transformation to Jötunn to take place before meeting her lips with his own. There was nothing tender about his kiss and Jane transported them to his bedroom and began to remove his clothing using magic. Loki shut and locked the doors and windows and put out the torches, leaving them alone in the pitch dark. It was easy to see with their Jötunn eyesight and Jane reveled in the specific intimacy of his actions.

Loki extended his claws and ripped Jane’s Midgardian outfit from her body. “You won’t be needing that again.” He said in a low voice.

His lips hovered by her ear a moment before tracing down her neck and collarbone. He paused for a long breath before taking her nipple into his mouth. Jane rubbed the tight muscles of his back with pressure and Loki bit her. She laughed and threw him across the room and onto the bed.

He put his hands behind his head and watched her approach. He studied the markings on the rest of her body, finding them to match his own. She climbed onto the end of his long bed and began to crawl towards him like a cat. She wore a playful grin and he let out a laugh before transporting himself behind her and penetrating her slowly. Jane simultaneously yelped in surprised and groaned with pleasure. She arched her back and reached for Loki’s hair, grasping the locks as he pulled out of her and thrust back in. His lips kissed her neck as their rhythm picked up speed and she felt her claws begin to extend the more turned on she became. As she dug into his scalp with her claws, Loki let out a growl. The girth of his penis expanded as his own claws cut into Jane’s flesh. The sensation was unexpected. She thought she would feel pain, but instead an extra layer of lifeforce flowed from her, emanating as an outer shell to her base flesh. Every touch was expanded upon and enhanced. A soft caress felt like a deep embrace and the sharpness of Loki’s claws felt like the moment just before an orgasm, but extended for a full minute.

Their glowing bodies ripped each other apart, transporting each other around the room to slam into walls and floor and ceiling to trigger the sensation. On one of these occasions Jane clung into the ceiling, hanging with her back to the floor and Loki’s body above her. His claws gripped her, cradling the back of her head and her ass, as he pushed deep inside of her. His red eyes danced through the glowing layers and he smiled at Jane in a wild way.

“You are perfection.” He said.

He pulled her head upwards, meeting her open mouth with his own for a passionate kiss. Jane could feel the burrs emerge from his penis inside of her. They scraped her vaginal wall as Loki moved in and out of her. His motions were fast and precise and she found herself screaming in pleasure. She was unable to focus and her claws released from the ceiling. As they hurdled downward, Loki did not release any part of her. When their bodies slammed onto the limestone tiles, Loki’s burrs dug harder into Jane, pushing her over the edge. She flayed the flesh on Loki’s back and growled in ecstasy. As she orgasmed she could feel something release from the walls of her vagina. Loki let out a screaming groan as if he was dying and Jane felt an added tension as he tried to pull out of her. She realized she must have released burrs of her own. She thrust her hips hard to fully encapsulate Loki and he let out a whimpering exhale before collapsing on top of her.

Their burrs receded, along with their claws, and the extended lifeforce returned to their veins. Their icy flesh was left healed and fresh, supple as if they were mortals who had undergone an exfoliating spa treatment.

Jane’s fingers traced Loki’s spine while he nuzzled into the space between her shoulder and neck.

“I’m so glad I turned you Jötunn and not Æsir.” He murmured.

“Mm,” was all Jane offered to agree.

They lay there entangled for more than an hour, their Jötunn bodies harder and colder than the limestone tile itself. Finally Loki lifted himself from her, standing as he said, “Isn’t there some celebration feast tonight?”

Jane groaned and stood as well. She kissed Loki softly for a few minutes and then undid the magic he had put in place to block the light. The windows opened to reveal it was just after dusk.

“Crap,” Jane said. “I’m going to be late.”

“No one will mind.” Loki smiled and pulled her into his chest. “You are the reason for the whole ordeal anyway. Call it a fashionable entrance.”

“Since when have I been one for making fashionable entrances?”

“Since now,” Loki grinned.

Jane kissed him again, this time it lasted longer and held more intensity. Their hands tangled in each other’s hair as their tongues wrestled one another for dominance. Eventually Jane pulled away.

“I have to get ready.” She said. “I don’t actually have any clothing at all to wear in this room since you shredded it.”

“Fine, fine.” Loki said. “Go and get ready.”

He conjured a basic dress onto her body from the remnants of fabric that had been her Midgardian clothing.

“I’ll see you there, right?” Jane asked.

Loki smiled and placed his hand on her cheek.

“I love you, Jane.” He said.

Jane momentarily was shocked. Professing his love for her was not something she’d been sure Loki possessed the capacity to do.

“Yes, and I you, Loki.” She replied after recovering from her shock.

She placed her hand over his and smiled back at him.

Loki kissed her forehead and said softly, “Go and get ready.”

Jane held his red eyes a moment before kissing him once. Her hand reached to his chest, lingering on the indentions of his markings before she stepped away from him. Their forms shifted to Æsir and Jane turned to go.

“Goodbye, Jane.” Loki said softly as she opened the door.

Jane pushed her mind into his and replied, “This will not be goodbye.”

Once he felt the pain of Jane pulling her mind from his own after she was well out the door, Loki took a deep breath. He felt a tear fall down his cheek before he turned to finish packing. He only took the essentials—orka, a book, and his dagger. He looked down at mjölnir and moved it next to his bed. He left the sealed letter he’d been writing Jane when she’d shown up leaned against the handle of the hammer. After taking in his room one last time, he concealed himself from Heimdall and Jane and went to the study’s balcony. He conjured the dark energy around him and, in a Midgardian heartbeat, he was gone.

~.~.~

Abigæl met Jane in the hallway just outside Loki’s quarters and led her to Thor’s old quarters, before he had become king, where Jane’s old study and dressing chambers were. She had not been back to the study since Loki initially took her. It had been refreshed recently, but Jane could see subtle ways it had sat frozen in time while she was away for so many months. Rectangular light stains littered the wood desk where her journals had sat and the star charts she had borrowed from the library over a year ago were covered in dust, as if no one knew what to do with them.

Jane followed Abigæl into the dressing chamber to find a stunning gown on the middle dress form.

“Where did this come from?” she asked, unable to stop herself from walking to it and fingering the lush fabric. She did not question Abigæl’s seemingly reprised role as her lady’s maid, even though Fandral explained to her that Sif had used her to spy on him. That was a unique situation and could be forgiven. Though once she became queen, Jane would likely assign Abigael to Sif, given that she could use magic to do all the basic tasks of a lady’s maid.

“It is a bereavement gift from Sif, my lady.” Abigæl explained. “She had it commissioned before Thor’s funeral, imploring Irja to finish it before your return from Midgard.”

“It’s exquisite.” Jane said. It truly was that. The dress wove together a vivid green silk with fluid gold trim that flowed even when standing still. Jane turned to Abigæl and said, “I will wear my hair down in the traditional Æsir style.”

“Yes, my lady.” Abigæl replied with a nod. She hesitated a moment before stammering, “If I may, I want to thank you. You saved my life.”

“You would have done the same for me.” Jane replied with a smile.

“Yes, of course.” Abigæl nodded.

“Come. Help me change so you can do my hair. I’m afraid I am already rather late.” Jane said. She did not dare risk ruining the new gown’s craftsmanship by using magic to reassemble it and allowed Abigæl to dress her.

~.~.~

When Jane arrived at the private celebratory feast in her new gown, nearly everyone was already there and seated. A gaping hole in the table’s occupancy sat empty directly across from her place at the head. Loki was not there. Her eyes flickered to Heimdall who gave her a subtle shake of the head to indicate Loki was not visible to him. Jane nodded and briefly closed her eyes to seek his lifeforce. He was gone.

Opening her eyes, Jane let out a breath before pushing forward a smile. She had a feast to run. As she moved to her place at the table, the jovial room quieted and looked to her expectantly. She had not prepared any sort of speech and let out small laugh to herself before picking up her goblet.

“My friends,” she began. She looked over the table and realized she knew every face there and that nearly all were still alive because of her. Only Nál, Valfreyja and Hogun had been untouched by the plague. Jane continued, “It brings me great joy that we are able to come together tonight, not only to celebrate but to demonstrate our determination, our persistence. I watched on two realms as the very essence of life was stripped from their inhabitants. It was horrific. And while we have experienced great losses from this epidemic, we have gained a renewed sense of community, of togetherness. When before have Æsir, Vanir, Jötnar, and Human joined together to share a table by choice? We embark today on a new future. A future that I know will be secure for each of us. Not because we are safe or because there are no other dangers—for there will always be threats. No, I know our futures are secure because we have each other. Our realms are united for peace and prosperity. I can think of no better reason to celebrate.”

Jane finished her impromptu speech by raising her goblet. “To our future!” she toasted.

“To our future!” the others repeated, raising their goblets as well.

“Now please enjoy.” Jane smiled as she sat. “There is no limitation, except for Volstagg who will be cut off at midnight from the food.”

Everyone but Nál and the Humans laughed. Fandral slapped Volstagg on the back, laughing harder than the others.

“Try and stop me, m’lady!” Volstagg called to Jane before consuming an entire pork chop at once.

Jane laughed briefly before turning her attention to the Human guests, who were seated closer to her, though Nál and Valfreyja sat closest.

“Are your chambers suitable?” Jane asked, mostly to Director Hill.

“They are very elegant.” Maria replied. “Just like this wine.”

“Thank you,” Valfreyja interjected. “It is Vanir wine, from my realm. Loki and Hogun worked to reopen the ports between Asgard and Vanaheim while the others were saving Midgard. Vanaheim supplies most of the food for Asgard, but it is for our wine that we our most renowned.”

“Is that so?” Maria raised her eyebrows. “Tell me about your vineyards.”

Valfreyja smiled dazzlingly and launched into the history of Vanir winemaking.

“And you guys?” Jane said to Tony and Pepper. “Did you enjoy your evenings so far?”

“We have.” Pepper smiled.

“A little dull without your banter buddy around. Where is Loki at anyway?” Tony asked and Erik stiffened at the mention of Loki. Tony did not notice and teased Jane, “You scare him off with your power?”

Jane looked away down the side passageway of the feast hall. She could hear Pepper scalding Tony for his comment, their voices fading away as her mind drifted to Loki’s telling her that he loved her. _Why have you left me then?_ She screamed in her head.

“Jane,” Nál’s voice called her back to the present.

Jane turned to Nál, who sat next to Tony. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to Jane and she shook her head once to indicate it was forgotten.

“Everyone says I need to speak to you.” Jane said, smiling at Nál. “What is it?”

“While you were on Midgard, nobly protecting that realm, the High Council of the Realms convened on Urðarbrunnr to determine the next leader of Asgard.” Nál began. “It was between Loki, son of Odin and Frigga through adoption, and you, savior of Asgard and Midgard and uniter of realms.”

“Who represented Asgard in the votes?” Jane inquired.

“Loki Laufeyson.” Nál replied.

“And what was the outcome?” Jane asked.

“You have been chosen, Jane. You are to be Queen of Asgard.” Nál said.

This was not news to either of them. The prophecy was unfolding as manifested by the Norns and shown to those who drank from the Well of Mimir.

“How did the votes fall?” Jane asked.

“Alvíss of Niðavellir and Surtur of Muspelheim voted for Loki Laufeyson and Valfreyja of Vanaheim and I, Nál of Jötunheim, voted for you. Faradei, the Ljósalfar’s leader, refused to come down from Alfheim for such turbulent matters, and the Svartálfar have vanished, as you know. Hela, the ruler of Hel, and Fafnir, the King of Niflheim, have never attended any High Council gatherings and Midgard does not, at this time, have a place on the High Council of the Realms.” Nál explained.

“But, I don’t understand,” Jane said. “If only you and Valfreyja voted for me, then why am I chosen?”

Nál’s red eyes bore into hers as if she were trying to initiate their telepathic link through staring.

“Jane,” Erik said softly. She looked to him. “You know why.”

“Then why did he leave?” Jane whispered.

She could feel pitying looks from Pepper and Sif and the concerned looks of Erik and Nál.

“Have you just explained she is queen?” Fandral yelled from the other end of the table. Volstagg let out a celebratory yell and both Nál and Valfreyja squeezed her shoulders.

Sif raised her goblet and gave Jane a genuine look of admiration.

“My queen!” she said, bowing her head.

Skaði, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun followed in suit. Hogun gave an additional bow to Valfreyja and Skaði gave one to Nál.

“My queen,” Heimdall said. “My eyes belong to you and the continued protection of the realms.”

Erik smiled at Jane and raised his goblet towards her before saying, “Your father would be proud of all you’ve accomplished, Jane.”

Director Hill gave Jane a nod, stating, “I am glad for your appointment, Dr. Foster. I look forward to our worlds working towards the same goals going forward.”

“Well earned, kid.” Tony said, tipping his goblet towards her.

“Congratulations, Jane.” Pepper smiled.

“Thank you, everyone.” Jane said. “I do not take this new role lightly, but I am pleased to have gained your confidences already.”

“To Jane!” Fandral cried.

Everyone echoed him and Jane smiled her appreciation and drank some wine. She began to eat her meal, finally having completed the majority of her duties. She wondered how often Frigga had eaten in her chambers after hours. Holding a dinner was exhausting enough, she could hardly imagine holding court. _Frigga, of course, had Odin._ Jane thought. A pang shot through her heart as she realized Loki would not ever be there by her side. He had cast the deciding vote to make her queen and then abandoned her. It made no sense. If he couldn’t bear her being leader of Asgard above him, then he would have voted for himself. Why would he leave now?

“You have not yet told Jane the happy news.” Valfreyja said to Nál.

Jane looked from Valfreyja to Nál, “What news?”

“Some concern over your loyalties was raised among the High Council after it was voted that you will accede the throne.” Nál began.

“How could there possibly be any concern? I care for the prosperity and safety of all the realms.” Jane said, slightly alarmed.

“Of course,” Nál said, her eyes sliding to Valfreyja’s in a way that made Jane uneasy.

“And what was proposed to prove my loyalty?” Jane asked in a tight voice. Clearly the concern came from Vanaheim, which held no direct connection to Jane.

“You are to unite the Æsir and Vanir through marriage to Freyr, Valfreyja’s twin brother.” Nál explained in a plain voice.

“I see.” Jane managed to say as her mouth went dry. She could see Sif and Skaði react with horrified shock before composing themselves. She drank some of the Vanir wine, which tasted bitter to her now, and forced a light laugh as she looked at Valfreyja and said, “Have you no sons?”

“Only my daughters you’ve met.” Valfreyja replied with a laugh that matched Jane’s.

Jane forced a smile and Sif asked Valfreyja a question about the harvest to pull the focus away from Jane.

Nál gave Jane some orka under the table and Jane discreetly consumed it. With their immediate proximity, Jane did not have to assume Jötunn form for her and Nál to become telepathically linked.

“She wants the coronation and the wedding to be combined.” Nál thought to her.

“Why the rush?” Jane thought back.

“Fear.” Nál thought.

Jane did not reply for a few moments, fielding a question from Pepper about the ability to sightsee tomorrow on horseback.

“I will not marry him.” Jane finally thought to Nál.

“There is no other option if you wish to maintain this alliance.” Nál thought.

“I’m a genius who knows magic. There will always be another option.” Jane thought back.

“Do not make me choose allegiance.” Nál thought.

Jane looked at her to find challenge in Nál’s eyes. Jane held her stare with a defiant look.

“Do not force me to marry a man who is cruel and act like any choice is involved.” Jane thought.

“See reason, Jane.” Nál pleaded. “Loki has always amounted to nothing. You’ve seen the future, you know what becomes of him.”

“And of you!” Jane protested. “You are burning for eternity—the worst of all the deaths—as atonement for the vitriol you spit on the other immortals. How then should I see you, Nál? With reason? Do not act as if Ragnarök is only meant for your son.”

Jane desperately wanted to break their link, but did not want to reveal her power to do so. She let her mind go blank and focused on the table’s conversations.

“You will regret this act of insubordination.” Nál thought.

Jane looked Nál in the eye and said coldly out loud in Jötunn, “No, I won’t.”

Nál broke their link and excused herself, citing the heat as a problem. Jane nodded to her and watched which direction she went. It appeared she was heading towards the Rainbow Bridge. Jane glanced at Heimdall who immediately rose to follow Nál.

Jane sat through the remainder of the dinner, joking and laughing with the others as though her soul was not at odds with itself. She wanted so many things at once and could not have them all. She took in the happiness of her companions and reminded herself that this was her purpose now. To keep laughter in the hearts of those she loved and those they loved and so forth. Her own happiness was secondary to that of her people. Queen of Asgard was not restricted to this realm alone; it extended its title to be Protector of the Realms. Her new responsibility was great. The happiness and well-being of all people was to be put before her own.

 _No wonder Loki left._ She mused.

~.~.~

Finally the dinner and following drinks dwindled enough that Jane could politely leave. She promised Erik they would spend the next day together and then excused herself for overexertion.

After changing from the gorgeous gown Sif had given her into something more austere, Jane transported herself into Loki’s chambers. Even though she knew he was gone because she could not sense his lifeforce anywhere, she held out a sliver of hope that he was merely concealing himself here.

The chambers were empty of life, though nearly everything remained. As Jane entered the bedroom, she could smell their Jötunn blood drying against every crevice in the walls and floor and ceiling. The bed was stained in their blackish blue blood hue. Jane tried to push out the distinct memories the room now held and went to his study to get some fresh air.

She noticed the burn marks from where Loki had created a portal. It was too late follow him like he had followed her when she’d attempted to go Midgard. Jane felt a surge of anger overcome her and she threw a punch down into the floor. It crumbled easily under her force and she began to shake with rage. She started to pace between the rooms, looking for things to destroy. Mjölnir caught her eye and she walked over to it. A sealed letter sat leaned against its handle. She picked up the letter and saw that her name was written across the front. Curiosity got the best her first, and she attempted to pick up mjölnir. It would not budge.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief, assuming this meant Loki was still alive at least, and then threw the bloody blanket from the bed so she could sit on the clean sheets underneath. They smelled of Loki’s Æsir self and she inhaled his scent as much as she could before opening his letter. She scanned it first to determine the length and noticed the flourished signature at the bottom. Her heart sank when she realized he been writing it when she came in. _What if I had not arrived right then?_ She wondered. _Would he have left without even attempting to say goodbye?_

She refused to believe this and told herself to instead read his words.

 

 

> Jane,
> 
> By the time you read this you will have spoken to Nál and know the news. I know that you will make a better ruler than I, which is why I casted my vote as I did. You represent something I could never be, which is just and fair. I simply lack the compassion for fairness. Personally I would rather the realms be under your protection than mine. Since I remain part of the realms, this holds relevancy and weight to me.
> 
> As much as I continue to detest Thor, even in his death, I will admit that his judgment of you held the basis of accuracy. He assured me you were strong. Stronger than I realized. But I think, Jane, that you are stronger than he realized. When I kidnapped you, it was part of an impromptu plan to escape Asgard. I thought I could hold you ransom in exchange for power. Odin’s sickness was unknown to me, though I would not put Nál or Skaði past such treachery. Once no one came for us, even with my see-through plan to put my illusion in prison, I wondered if you even had value to Thor. It was not until you challenged me in the court of Utgard that I realized you might hold more power than Thor himself.
> 
> Of course I dismissed it as petulance and lack of cultural understanding. What mortal comes against fate with such hatred and grace at once? Yet even then a part of you knew that the forces were beyond our control.
> 
> I was a fool, Jane. This became abundantly clear on Alfheim as you took to magic like a fish to water. I wanted to control your limits, but you are too strong. Thor was correct, even if he lacked the understanding of you to which I am privileged.
> 
> I am truly sorry for all the pain I have caused you, whether direct or to those you love. I am unworthy of your forgiveness and do not seek it, but I want you to know that I am sorry. When I told you in the dungeon cell that I too wished I had not damaged the people you love, I meant it.
> 
> Once you are reading this, I hope desperately that I have had the chance to express my true feelings for you. As you are about to embark in a lifetime of lies and unhappiness for the good of the realms, I sincerely hope that I have given you at least one truth to grasp onto tightly. It is more than I had in the Asgard Court, and you deserve more than me, Jane. You always have.
> 
> You will be asking why I left. If it is not obvious yet, I will state it here so you do not need to wonder: I love you, Jane. I love you so much that I cannot bear to be beside you while you are courted by another. Especially against what I presume your will to be. I cannot bear witness to this without causing you trifle. In order to remove one of your barriers on an already difficult journey, I will leave.
> 
> You will thrive, Jane. You were born to rule, even if no one ever bred you for it. I envy your bravery, your poise. I long to possess the unadulterated confidence that you do. You make me wish I had tried harder in my petty existence. You inspire.
> 
> I beg that you will not see my flight as anything but a reflection on my own cowardice and insecurities.
> 
> You are the ruler of the stars. Your mortal desires have led you to the very place you belong. Do not let anyone shake this from you. You are more deserving of your title than any of the other monarchs. You are selfless and caring. You are wise and determined. You refuse to abandon hope, even when it is but a sliver. You are a queen, Jane. You are my queen.
> 
> Forever yours,
> 
> Loki Laufeyson

 

Jane read the letter three times before she ripped it to shreds, screaming in anger as she did. Why did he have to leave her? Now in this wretched state of affairs! Did he think she would ever marry Freyr? Was her fidelity ever in question? What was the truth Loki saw that she could not?

They were not fashioned for each other. Nál and the Norns had made that quite clear. But still, Jane could not imagine her existence without Loki.

She conjured the discarded blanket around her shoulders, rubbing the Jötunn blood against her so she could change form. Once Jötunn she released her claws and began to shred every remaining item in the room other than mjölnir. She screamed as loud as she could for as long as she could. She then reformed the letter using magic, returned to Æsir form, and left Loki’s quarters.

She found herself walking to the royal quarters without realizing it. No one stopped her. When she entered the bedroom though, she found Sif asleep on the bed, her placid face tear-stained. Jane remembered the bed chamber next to this one, where she had saved Abigæl from the Black Fire, and quietly and quickly left Sif to her grief for Thor to enter that room.

She first noticed the mantelpiece, which she had paid no attention to the last time she was in the room. It displayed several charcoal portraits and one of Loki done in needlepoint. After looking at the vivid green and gold threads, she determined it was Frigga’s handiwork. The others were clearly Loki’s drawings, though slightly crude and undeveloped, as if he had been much younger when he had sketched them. A piece of parchment caught her eye next the portrait of Thor. She picked it up to see a sketch of herself and quickly turned it over to find a letter written in Jötunn and Vanir with the symbol of the Triad at the top. She read it, the same message stated twice in the two languages, and realized it was her prophecy and fate, as woven by the Norns. When Jane turned the parchment over again, golden ink began to bleed out on the page to form words in Æsir:

 

> I want you both happy, Jane  
>  So I will tell you where he dwells  
>  But time is slipping  
>  And he does not belong there.
> 
> You must bring Loki home  
>  Before he wages a war without intention.  
>  After your coronation, all will be revealed.  
>  Sleep well, my Queen.

As Frigga’s signature appeared below the message, Jane gasped. She read it again, hope of finding Loki rekindling inside of her. She felt resolved, as if all would be right again. Frigga would not make false promises from Valhalla. Jane set the parchment down where she found it and the golden message disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. _Biometric invisible ink._ Jane mused. She glanced at the portrait of Loki again and fingered the textured thread of his smirking lips.

“Why must you always be in trouble, my love?” Jane said to the portrait. The fluid thread of his eyes seemed almost to wink at her and Jane had to look away. It was too lifelike. With a renewed determination, Jane grabbed the parchment again and went back to the bedroom where Sif slept. She began to call Sif’s name to wake her. She needed to become queen as soon as possible and the last person to shepherd along a coronation was Sif.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Songs for this chapter: “Now You See Me” by Brian Tyler; “The Golden Age” by Woodkid** _

* * *

Sif blinked awake slowly, processing that Jane sat over her.

“Jane, what is it?” she asked. Then it dawned on her she was in what should be Jane’s bed. Fear crept into the pit of her stomach and she began to apologize profusely.

“Stop,” Jane said, holding up her hand. “That is not why I am here. I need to speak with you about the coronation process.”

“What is the hour? Have I overslept?” Sif asked, starting to scramble out of bed but feeling drowsy, as if she had hardly slept at all.

“No, this cannot wait. Forgive me.” Jane said and used magic to deplete the adenosine molecules in Sif’s brain.

“What was that? I feel so alert now.” Sif remarked as she touched her head.

“Science,” Jane said and then lifted the parchment containing Frigga’s message. “Unlike this. This is a message from beyond the grave; from Frigga.”

Sif looked at the parchment and realized it was the one she had found on the mantelpiece while Thor was sick. _When he was alive._ She closed her eyes tightly to block the tears. She opened them again with a frown. “I have seen that parchment before, but it is written in Jötunn and Vanir, so I could not read it. What does it say?”

“No, that part is old, from before Frigga’s death. That’s my fate as woven by the Norns; the one in which I am shown to be the one to unite the realms and lead us to victory over the destruction of the universe. The message I make reference to now is new. Here, look.” Jane held out the parchment for Sif to read. Her eyes widened as she watched the gold script appear and read its message.

“But where is Loki? What war could he possibly start?” Sif asked.

“That is why I need to be crowned immediately. I was going to wait since Valfreyja wants the wedding to happen with the coronation, but now I cannot delay. We cannot afford a war right now, not with what is to come.”

“You cannot marry Freyr.” Sif said in an urgent whisper.

“No. I will not marry him. But we need to find Loki. Perhaps he will know how to change Valfreyja’s mind.”

Sif thought for a moment and finally said, “Truly I cannot believe I am saying this, but we need Skaði’s help.”

“What can she do?” Jane asked. “She was the one who betrayed Asgard.”

“So she told you?” Sif asked, surprised.

“No. I figured it out on Jötunheim.” Jane said. “She told me on Midgard that she owed me. Perhaps she still has more to repay.”

“I believe she does. She told me we would need her knowledge of Vanaheim to take down Valfreyja.”

“What does she seek in return?” Jane asked.

“Forgiveness.” Sif said flatly. “Something I cannot grant her.”

“But you must.” Jane shook her head. “Besides, you and Thor conspired with Valfreyja as well, so in my eyes there is little difference.”

“How do you know all of this?” Sif asked. _Did Heimdall figure it out and tell her? Did Skaði tell her already?_ She wondered.

“Loki was watching you two while he was under guise of Odin. I can read Loki’s mind.” Jane shrugged it off. “Think no more on this and get dressed. We will go collect Skaði from Fandral’s chambers. What is coming will render each of your prior actions of no importance. We will need all the realms to defeat what is coming.”

“What is coming, Jane?” Sif asked.

“The end of the universe.” Jane said. “Come, let’s get Skaði and Fandral. Do you know of an inconspicuous place to meet where we will not be overheard?”

“Yes,” Sif said, feeling guilty for knowing it because she and Thor would go there to get away from Jane and speak in private. Something that Jane was apparently very aware of. She pushed the memory away and stood to change. She looked to Jane said, “I will move out of these quarters tomorrow.”

“Someone will do that for you. Tomorrow I shall be queen and learn of Loki’s location. You will be fetching him for me. Now let’s go.” Jane said and waited by the door as Sif dressed hurriedly.

~.~.~

They could hear Skaði and Fandral having sex as they approached the Warriors’ quarters. Jane rolled her eyes as she used magic to open his chamber door from afar so she and Sif would not have to see in.

“Get dressed.” Jane ordered loud enough for them to hear. “I need you both now.”

Jane pushed her mind into Heimdall’s as they waited for the pair to put clothes on.

“Yes, my queen?” Heimdall thought to Jane.

“Not queen yet.” Jane thought back, glad the mind link worked between them with her initiating. “Meet us in the kitchen of Three-eyed Raven’s. Close the portal when you come.”

“Yes, my lady. May I inquire to the purpose?”

“Small Council meeting,” Jane mused back to him. “Come now.”

Jane pulled her mind from his as a disheveled Fandral and Skaði emerged to the common area of the quarters. She scanned their blood content and forced the lingering alcohol molecules in Fandral’s blood to move to his bladder.

“One more moment, my queen.” He said, booking it for the chamber’s restroom.

“What’s going on?” Skaði asked as she ran her hand through her hair to smooth it.

“We cannot discuss it here.” Jane said without any emotion.

Skaði nodded.

“We should go in pairs, not as a group, to avoid attracting attention.” Sif suggested.

“Nonsense,” Jane said. “I will just transport us there.”

“Must we?” Sif asked. The few times Loki had forced her to transport, generally because they were about to die, she had loathed the experience. It was entirely different than traveling on the Bifröst.

“No one will see us this way.” Jane said in a tone that Sif did not dare question.

Once Fandral rejoined the group, Jane clustered them together and let her magic flow through the trio. Moments later all but Jane were doubled over in the kitchen of Three-eyed Raven’s, trying to readjust to being a solid form while Jane conjured chairs around the wooden table.

“Tonight I have received two letters.” Jane said, standing at the head of the table and motioning to the chairs for the others to sit. Heimdall entered just as the group began to feel solid again. Jane smiled at him and continued, “One from Loki before he left us, explaining why he had to leave; the other from Frigga in Valhalla, explaining why we now must go retrieve Loki.”

There was a murmur from everyone but Sif. Finally Fandral said, “Forgive me, my queen, but if Loki left, and neither you nor Heimdall can see him, perhaps he does not want to be found?”

Jane took a breath and then nodded her head. “Yes, I thought of that. Loki’s desires do not matter though. If Frigga’s words are true then Loki soon will enter a domain he should not and unwittingly wage a war. I do not wish to risk any more lives over another one of Loki’s blunders.”

Everyone looked at Jane with shock that she would discredit Loki so easily after claiming to love him.

“I see no reason for your surprise.” Jane shrugged easily, the way Loki might have done in such a situation. “I have come to know and appreciate Loki far better than any one of you, despite how many opportunities you all had to cherish him.”

“Cherish Loki?” Heimdall protested. “For what? Until now he has brought nothing but trials to this realm, to your former realm, to Skaði’s realm. One act cannot undo all he has done.”

“No, nor did one act shape Loki into the man you all know him to be.” Jane said. “You think his heart is full of hatred and jealousy and that is why he lashes out, but no child’s heart begins thus. Not even a Jötunn child. Ask yourselves, as Skaði sits among us now, is her heart marred with hatred? Is she a monster?”

Fandral’s grip pulled tighter around Skaði, as if he anticipated an attack from Sif or Heimdall. Instead they shook their heads, embarrassed at their racism.

“But I am a monster.” Skaði whispered. “What I have done is too monstrous to deem me otherwise.”

“I know what you have done, Skaði. Just as I know what Sif has done and how Heimdall has lied along with her.” Jane said. “I say to you all now, it is forgiven. We must move forward, together.”

“What did you do, Skaði?” Fandral asked, releasing her from his side embrace. He looked from Skaði to Sif and said to his fellow Warrior, “And what did you do?”

“We were both were fooled by Valfreyja into protecting our realms from the other’s attack. A false attack, as it turns out.” Sif said. “I helped to organize the forced marriage of Freyr to Queen Nál’s daughter.”

“Gerðr? But she is just a child, Sif. A sassy, stubborn child certainly, much like Thor was in his youth, but a child nonetheless. She is so innocent and young. How could you force her to marry such an old man?” Fandral asked with wide eyes.

Sif could not stop the tears from brimming over her lids. She began to shake her head, disgusted again with herself. She had never thought of Gerðr as a child, only as a Jötunn.

“Heimdall, you knew?” Fandral asked.

“No,” Sif managed to say. “No, only Thor knew. Valfreyja shielded the truth from Heimdall at Thor’s behest.”

Jane looked at Heimdall and asked, “So, you did not lie to me?”

“Not about this, as I did not know the truth until now. But about Thor’s secret meetings with Sif, yes, I did keep that from you for as long as I could.” Heimdall said. “I feared your mortal heart could not bear such a truth. I was mistaken, quite clearly.”

Jane breathed out a small laugh and squeezed Heimdall’s hand. “I daresay my mortal heart had hardened itself to that truth before I ever entered Utgard.”

“But what of you, Skaði? What web of lies did you weave for Valfreyja?” Fandral asked, his body now fully separated from hers, no longer touching any part of her Vanir form.

“I am so sorry.” Skaði whispered, unable to look at Fandral. She too had begun to cry and Jane wondered if she would even be able to tell him that she had poisoned Sif with Black Fire.

Jane looked between them and realized that it was Fandral’s compassion and openness towards all species that had finally begun to build the bridge across the ravine of hate standing between them all. It was of little relevance that his openness came primarily from a driving sexual curiosity, she could not allow him to lose his faith in everyone now. He needed to understand why Skaði did what she did.

Before Jane could open her mouth to explain, Sif said through a heaving sob, “You mustn’t blame her, Fandral. You cannot blame her. She was only protecting Gerðr from Freyr.”

Skaði spun to face Sif, her wet eyes wide with surprise.

“My heart had so much hate. So much hate. I don’t know how I became that way.” Sif said, shaking her head.

“Why would she need protection from Freyr? What was he going to do?” Fandral asked Sif and Skaði.

“He is a rapist.” Jane said coldly when the two women could not respond through their tears. “Valfreyja does nothing to stop him.”

“How is this allowed? Rape is a crime. It’s a crime.” Fandral asked, looking around the group for answers.

“There is no law against rape on Vanaheim.” Heimdall explained. With this final confirmation of what she suspected, Jane’s plan was resolved. Heimdall continued to Fandral, “Their reliance on sexual energy for prophecy has assured them that any act of sex holds value.”

Fandral sat back in his chair, overwhelmed with emotion. He began to question if he had unknowingly raped someone on Vanaheim. All of his partners had consented. He always asked and he always gave his consent. He did not understand how anyone would not want their partners’ approvals beforehand. Yet he had been there, a part of this world that permitted such an act. He had helped with the energy, the prophecy, the power of Valfreyja.

“We must stop them.” Fandral said resolutely.

“I am glad you agree with my plan.” Jane said. The group turned to her and she finally sat down. “Rape is a crime. On Jötunheim it is deemed the worst crime to exist. The moment I am queen, it will be a crime throughout all of the realms. Once that occurs, there will be no place where Freyr and Valfreyja will be able to hide.”

“Stop,” Skaði said. “You’re making decisions and that will affect what can be seen in prophecy. You must not make any decisions.”

“What do you mean?” Jane asked her.

“You must only have ideas and share those ideas with us.” Skaði explained. “We cannot make decisions either. Until something is decided, it cannot be seen clearly enough through völva. I learned this the hard way when I was spying in Vanaheim.”

“Very well, thank you.” Jane nodded at Skaði. “But Valfreyja remains on Asgard now and cannot practice völva here. My coronation surely has been foreseen by now, since it was woven by the Norns themselves and she has drank from the Well of Mimir. So, let us discuss that for now.”

“We are no longer alone.” Heimdall said.

Fandral and Sif reached for their swords and Fandral realized that he did not have his with him.

“Yes, I invited some others to join late.” Jane said and looked to the window. “Please come in.”

Muninn and Huginn flew in and landed on Jane’s shoulders. She introduced the ravens to Skaði, as everyone else already knew them.

“We must only speak in ideas and not make any decisions.” Jane said to the ravens. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” both ravens replied.

“According to Frigga, once I am crowned I will learn the location of Loki.” Jane explained.

“Yes, upon coronation, the new ruler of Asgard inherits the knowledge of all the previous rulers so that no wisdom is lost over time.” Huginn explained. “From the High Seat, the ruler may see to all the realms, much like Heimdall, but also may see into Valhalla where the glorious dead dwell.”

“Thank you, Huginn.” Jane said. “So, assuming I learn the location of Loki when I see into Valhalla and speak with Frigga, we then can bring him home. I imagine Skaði and Sif to be the best option for that task, but I am yet to decide.”

“Why me?” Skaði asked.

“Because you still love him,” Jane said. “Why else would you proclaim your hatred for him so profusely when he has never harmed you directly?”

Skaði shook her head in protest, but Jane waved her hand as if this was not in question and of no consequence.

“He hates me though,” Skaði said.

“He does not.” Jane said. “I have seen deep into Loki’s heart, and he continues to hold a fondness for you. When he learns the truth of you and Freyr, I imagine he will be enraged.”

Jane was counting on Loki’s reaction, but she could not express this, even to herself, if Valfreyja truly could determine the future based on decisions.

“Why me?” Sif asked quietly, unsure she wanted to know the answer.

“Because he still loves you,” Jane said. “Even after all you put him through by loving Thor.”

Sif stared at her in shock. “He certainly has an odd way of showing it.” She finally said.

“Does he?” Jane asked. “Somehow I thought him preserving Thor’s body in the middle of battle when no one else could and then helping you gather the required pieces for Thor’s funeral and running the ceremony itself were fairly obvious and somewhat standard ways of demonstrating love.”

Sif looked downward, realizing for the first time that Loki’s actions had not been about showing her that he was better and more powerful than Thor, as she had initially thought. She had never before experienced feeling ashamed so many times in one sitting. Skaði reached her hand to Sif’s and gave it a quick squeeze.

As Skaði went to remove her hand, Sif gripped it tightly, unable to believe she had hated the Jötnar so fully, so easily, and for so long. When she looked back to why this had become so ingrained in her identity, she could only think of Thor and his distaste for the Jötnar. Even her own father, who had fought against the Jötnar when they invaded Midgard, did not hate them the way Thor seemed to. She thought of the night on the boat in their youth, when Loki had saved their lives. She thought of how Thor pretended he was part-Jötunn. How the whole thing was a big joke to him. A joke she went along with. She wondered how Loki could possibly ever have loved her. She longed for the taste of a lemon pastry and a teardrop fell from her eye. It splattered against her and Skaði’s hands, and Sif thought, _I am a wretched being._

Skaði’s fingers caught the next tear before it left Sif’s cheek and as Sif met her eyes Skaði whispered, “You are not alone.”

Fandral moved to the other side of Sif and put his arm around her shoulders. At his touch, the dam broke and Sif could not stop crying. Jane looked at Heimdall and they both let out a sigh.

Jane stroked the feathers of Muninn and Huginn briefly and then said to Heimdall, “You are ward now, yes?”

“I am.” Heimdall said. “It is my duty to preside over the coronation ceremony, and with Valfreyja, Nál, and the Midgardians still here, we have credible witnesses from enough different realms for an elected heir to be acknowledged as legitimate.”

Jane nodded and then said, “And can you, as ward, officiate a wedding?”

Skaði snapped back into the conversation at this, stating with ferocity, “You cannot marry Freyr.”

“I can officiate a wedding.” Heimdall said, ignoring Skaði’s protest.

“Good. I will need time, though, to prepare for my wedding.” Jane said. She looked at Skaði and Sif, who had managed to take some control of themselves for the moment. “I will also require a wedding gift. I imagine you will need to travel fairly far to find it, given its rarity, but it is the only gift I will accept.”

Sif nodded and Skaði said, “Whatever the gift is that you decide upon, we will find it.”

Jane smiled and nodded at them. She looked back to Heimdall and said, “What time should we hold the coronation ceremony tomorrow?”

“As early as possible,” Heimdall said. “The ravens can easily spread the word among Asgard at first light, and we can start a few hours after that to allow those farther away to arrive.”

“Very well,” Jane said as she stood up. “Muninn and Huginn, please spread the invitations at dawn. Let us all get some sleep now. Tomorrow is a big day.”

* * *

Loki stood at the embankment across from Hel’s Gate. A snarling, wolfish dog seemingly bathed in blood paced the path just across the roaring river of the dead. The swift moving river was aptly named Gjöll, the word for ‘noise’. It extended as a barrier around Hel from the third great well of Yggdrasil, which was the river’s mouth and located in Niflheim, the least pleasant of the realms. Niflheim was where the wickedest beings went in death.

Loki wondered if Niflheim still was ruled by the Rime Giant, Fáfnir, who was sometimes called the Dragon King. No living being had heard from him in centuries. The joke from those destined for Hel was that Fáfnir was too busy to visit the realms of the living because he collected so many dead. Those aimed for Niflheim never made this joke. Murderers and rapists and oath-breakers would never joke about their unspeakably terrible eternal futures. Loki wondered bitterly if Odin and Thor were in Niflheim where they ought to be, or if their kingly status saved them once again from the fate they deserved.

After this thought passed through Loki, the guilt that had shrouded him for a millennia rose fiercely within him, and he was unsure if it was this guilt or the noise of the Gjöll River that deafened him. It had been 1,027 years, 4 months, 17 days, and 16 hours since he last stood on this embankment. That was less than an hour before the hardest moment of his life when he left his twin children to take dominion over Hel. He ordered the eldest, Hela, to rule the dead of the realm and her tenacious brother, Fenrir, to protect her.

He remembered how they had both complained of the river’s loudness. Fenrir in his natural wolf form had snarled at it, while Hela had wrapped her tiny arms tightly around his neck as she trembled with fear. He had taken them from a shattered forest home to this place so that he could hide them. He had sentenced them to a lifetime here, perhaps longer, to protect them from the wrath of those who sought to kill monsters. But they had been too young then for him to explain it and he was nervous now they would reject him for abandoning them.

Over the centuries he had visited his children in secret by projecting his illusion to the other side of the river, right to the front of Hel’s Gate. He had not projected himself in decades though and now there was no longer a crossing over the river. The bridge that stood when Loki first came here with his children no longer was there. He realized one must swim across Gjöll to enter Hel, and as steeped in dark magic as its waters were, to touch them surely meant to die. The living’s only choice was to remain on this side of the river. _The perfect barrier._ He mused. As he was preparing to test out the ability to transport himself over the river, Loki saw the distinctive white flesh of a hideous looking Rime Giantess emerge from Hel’s Gate.

“Who are you?” the Rime Giantess boomed.

“I am Loki Laufeyson. Who are you?” he asked. Her ugly, hoarfrost face was unknown to him.

“I am Módgud. What business have you in Hel, Loki Laufeyson?” she cried in a painful tone.

“I have come to see my children.” He said.

“The living are not permitted to see the dead.” Módgud said.

“My children are not dead.” Loki said. He hoped desperately this statement remained true.

“Tell me your children’s names and I shall let you pass, Loki Laufeyson. That you will live beyond these gates, I cannot guarantee. Perhaps your children will take pity on you and offer you protection.” Módgud said wryly, offering him a scowling smile across the wild river.

“My children rule this wretched realm and you should be trembling in fear of a father’s wrath for keeping me from this reunion, Módgud.” Loki sneered. “Your insubordination will not go unnoted. My children are Hela and Fenrir and you will delay me no further.”

Módgud’s eyes widened and she quickly bowed as best she could with her immense stature. Loki watched as the original Gjallarbrú Bridge appeared out of thin air over the river and wondered where Módgud learned such magic. The bridge’s golden thatched roof shimmered as if there were a light source on Hel, and Loki quickly strode across the glittering planks.

Once on the other bank of the Gjöll, Loki assessed the bloody dog to see if it was injured. It was not and appeared to be covered in others’ blood. The hound was larger up close, standing as tall as Loki on all fours. Still, it was not as massive as Fenrir had become the last time Loki projected himself here.

“What is this creature called?” he asked Módgud.

“He is Garmr” Módgud replied.

“Garmr,” Loki repeated, holding out his hand to steady the dog’s heart with magic. Garmr calmed and quieted at this and Módgud assumed Loki had a way with hellhounds. He turned to her and said, “I will take him with me as protection along Niflvegur Road.”

“That is wise.” Módgud said, inclining her head. She motioned for Loki to enter Hel’s Gate and he called Garmr to him with success. Módgud followed them inside and used magic to lock the gate behind her. She pointed along the single pathway and said, “You will follow Niflvegur north as far as you can, and when it splits, you will know which way to go.”

Loki nodded his thanks to her and snapped his fingers for Garmr to walk beside him. Even though his magic should not work inside of Hel’s Gate, he planned to try it anyway once out of sight of Módgud.

~.~.~

Loki and Garmr had walked through a strange mist for the distance of fifteen sjomilur at least, but when Loki turned, Módgud seemed no farther away than she had at the distance of one sjomila. Jane had written in one of her journals that a sjomila was about the distance of a Midgardian mile. He wished the thought of Jane’s journal had not popped into his head in this disturbing place and focused back on how Módgud logically could not be so close still.

 _What dark magic is this?_ He wondered.

As he let out a frustrated sigh, there was a rustle in the nearby brush. Garmr’s hair stood on edge and he let out a growl. Loki reached for his dagger and poised for an attack. Instead a beautiful, young woman emerged from the brush, a smile across her dual colored face. One side was vibrant and rosy with life, the other the dull gray of death. She was familiar to him, but would need to get closer for him to be certain it was Hela.

“Why do you walk in circles, sir?” she asked him with a cheeky grin, moving rather close to him with no protest from Garmr who had calmed quickly at the sight of her.

Loki took her in, looking at her living eye’s brilliant jade color. It was a color he knew quite well. It was his eye color and she was his.

“Hela,” he smiled. “Why do you make me walk in circles, child?”

Hela paused, stepping backwards to look him over for a long moment and inhaling deeply as if smelling the air. Finally she spoke, “Módgud caused the distortion of direction because she did not trust you. Why do you call me child when I rule this domain?”

“Thor is dead.” Loki said.

“And Odin?” Hela asked.

“Fáfnir did not tell you?”

“Of the three, only Týr has been taken in by Fáfnir.” Hela shook her head. “Thor and Odin must dwell in Valhalla now.”

Loki scrunched his nose in a disgusted frown.

“Do not dismay, father. I would rather they be far from me.” She said.

Loki’s stomach did a somersault when she called him ‘father.’ He had not known whether he would live until the day when it was safe for her to utter it to him. A smile rose within him and he let out a laugh before walking towards Hela.

“May I hug you, daughter?” he asked tentatively.

Hela hugged him fiercely in response and Loki felt his heart melt into her embrace. He wrapped his arms around her half living, half dead body and traced up her spine to the hair on her head. They had not touched each other in over a thousand years when he had first left her here to rule Hel.

“Where is your brother?” Loki asked once they finally released each other. He nodded to Garmr and added, “Why do you keep this mongrel instead?”

“Garmr is ever faithful and no mongrel.” Hela said, raising her chin as she spoke and giving Garmr a loving scratch below the jaw. “My brother, Fenrir, ran away two years ago and I have not heard from him or of him since. At the very least, I know he is not getting into too much trouble. No one has died anyway; at least no one headed for Hel or Niflheim.”

“He ran away? I commanded him to stay and protect you.” Loki frowned.

Hela shrugged, saying, “He grew impatient and sought his own domain. He tired of this realm. Can you blame him?”

Loki looked around the dark, lonely fields wondering how many dead surrounded them now, invisible to his living eyes. He looked back to Hela and shook his head. “I suppose I cannot.”

“Come with me to my home so you are safe. We have much to catch up on.” Hela said. She put her hands on Loki’s shoulders and looked him in the eye, “First though, if Thor and Odin both are dead, are you not king now?”

“I am not.” Loki said and let out a sigh that ended in a smile. “The raven must not have arrived yet.”

“Sometimes they die trying to cross the Gjöll.” Hela said with a frown. “Who then is king if you are not?”

“You are right, my daughter.” Loki said and took one her hands in his own as they began to walk deeper into Hel. “We do have much to catch up on.”

* * *

Jane did not sleep after sending the others back to their chambers from the Three-eyed Raven’s. Instead she went to Thor’s old quarters, consumed orka, and began to practice self-transfiguration while maintaining a functional illusion of her corporal Æsir self. Muninn and Huginn observed and critiqued her work for the minutest errors until it was finally first light and they left to run the dispatch of the invitations to the coronation.

Jane looked in the mirror and altered her appearance with magic so she appeared to have slept a full night. She consumed some more orka and remembered that she had promised Erik to spend the day with him. That promise would have to be amended and she hoped breakfast would be sufficient. She went to the dressing chamber and found a simple lavender day dress to wear for the morning. As she changed, she understood why Loki often chose not to use magic for basic tasks like dressing himself. There was a strange pleasure in its simplicity.

Finding a pen in her bag from Midgard, Jane scribbled out a note in Æsir to Abigæl requesting that she prepare all of her items for the coronation, including her armor. The Ruler of Asgard was the commander of the army, and as such was always crowned in full armor. She flourished her signature across the bottom of the note, pushing the memory of Loki doing the same just the day before from her mind as she folded the paper and set it in the dressing chamber where Abigæl would find it later.

She left for the guest chambers where Nál was staying and had a guard announce her once she arrived. Nál was in the parlor already and Jane nodded at the guards to leave them. Once they were alone Jane approached Nál to transport them with magic. She embraced her without asking and relocated them to the mountainside alcove in the bald face of the main peak of the Askjafjöll range, which Sif had told her about earlier.

“What in Niflheim are you doing?” Nál demanded once they set down.

“I need to speak with you somewhere we cannot be overheard.” Jane said and then cast a look around at the snowy alcove before adding with a friendly smile, “And I thought you would be more comfortable here.”

“What do you have to say to me?” Nál said. Her tone was far from harsh as she relaxed into the freezing cold setting.

“I want to apologize.” Jane said. “You were right. I do need to marry Freyr. I see that now.”

“Do you?” Nál said. “Because Skaði found me before she retired for the night with Fandral. She told me what Freyr really is. What he’s done.”

“Can I trust you, Nál?” Jane asked. “Truly, can I?”

“You are my blood, Jane.” Nál said. “I am bound to protect you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, you can trust me.” Nál said.

Jane looked her in the eyes closely and listened to her heartbeat. She was not lying.

“I need your help.” Jane said. “I need to get information from Frigga about Loki. To get this, I need to be queen as soon as possible.”

“So the wedding will be delayed.” Nál inferred. She added in a hopeful tone, “Delayed indefinitely?”

“No, the wedding will be delayed until I am prepared for it. That’s not relevant to this conversation.” Jane said.

Realizing that Jane was avoiding decision-making the way that Skaði had warned her about when she returned from Vanaheim with Loki years ago, Nál asked, “What do you need from me?”

“A peace treaty.” Jane said.

“What?”

“Between Asgard and Jötunheim.”

“You want a peace treaty? For what?” Nál asked.

“Unity.” Jane said. “According to the Norns, I have to unite the realms. The Jötnar and the Æsir must work together again. I want the Jötnar present at my wedding. I want this relationship to mend.”

“I want it to mend as well.” Nál said. “But why do you want Jötnar at your wedding?”

“It’s just a thought, not a decision.” Jane said pointedly.

Nál nodded, understanding that Jane was avoiding prophecy prediction.

“This is an easy request, Jane. Possibly the easiest thing an Asgardian ruler has ever asked of the Jötnar.” Nál said.

“I am sure the Jötunn Bestla felt differently about the Æsir king, Bor.” Jane said with a wink. “The accounts in both our libraries show them as being very much in love.”

Nál smiled and Jane laughed.

“Shall we go to my study to draw up the treaty documents?” Jane asked. “I promised Erik my day, and since the coronation will take over that, I at least owe him breakfast.”

“One more moment,” Nál said and leaned her body against the icy wall of the alcove.

“You should talk to Erik, actually. I think you would like him. He’s quite brilliant. He would fit in well on Jötunheim.” Jane said casually.

“Is he as bright as you?” Nál asked with a small smile.

“No…” Jane said and then flashed Nál a grin, “But he did teach me everything he knows.”

Nál smiled at Jane and rubbed her upper arm once causing Jane to start to turn Jötunn.

“I’ll speak with him then.” She said softly before murmuring, “A mortal scientist; how amusing.”

~.~.~

“This fish is unbelievable.” Tony said as he took another bite of the smoked fish breakfast Jane had sent up for them. He added through a full mouth, “I see why you kept coming back, Foster.”

“Tony, you’re disgusting. Close your mouth.” Pepper said in a scolding tone. He chewed more obnoxiously and she turned away with an expressive eye roll.

“I am pleased you like it.” Jane said. “I thought you guys would.”

“It’s incredible.” Erik agreed. “Just like they serve in Norway.”

“Yes,” Jane nodded, remembering the smoked fish from Tromsø.

“We’ve heard the news, Dr. Foster. The, uh, talking ravens delivered it this morning.” Maria Hill said before Tony interrupted her.

“That was totally freaky by the way.” He said.

“Do you want us to stay for the coronation?” Maria asked.

“Yes, of course,” Jane said. “In fact, I wish to speak with you in particular, Maria. I am hoping to integrate Midgard into the High Council of the Realms. Earth had been so underdeveloped that it was deemed unnecessary by council members, but I feel now more than ever Earth is plunging ahead into the future. It needs to have representation on the High Council and I believe you would be a good choice. What do you think?”

“You want me on an intergalactic council?” Maria asked.

“Inter-Realm,” Jane corrected. “The realms do not represent the galaxies they are part of. Earth does not represent the Milky Way, only Earth. But yes, I want you on the council.”

“Hang on, the realms are all in different galaxies?” Erik asked.

“Yes, I knew you would be excited.” Jane smiled at him with enthusiasm. She looked back to Maria and added, “The High Council will meet tomorrow with me as ruler and Protector of the Realms for the first time. You do not need to decide until then, so think on it today.”

“Okay, I will think about it.” Maria said.

“Thank you,” Jane said.

Maria nodded and Jane turned her attention to Erik.

“How are they in different galaxies?” he asked her.

“Well,” Jane said, standing to move so she was sitting next to Erik on the couch. “When I met with one of the Norns on Jötunheim, it told me the history of Yggdrasil.”

Jane proceeded to recap how Yggdrasil came to be, including Odin’s violence that divided the realms of Asgard and Jötunheim. She left out the part about how she was the only one who could ensure the cycle of Ragnarök would happen again. She needed her friends to support her without the imminent threat of destruction. Her enemies would require such a threat to abide by her rule, but her friends should not.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers, we are in the final stretches. I know I've said that before, but it's real this time! The final chapters will be posted before 2016. Prepare yourselves.

**_Songs for this Chapter: “Prologue” by Patrick Doyle; “Pedestrian at Best” by Courtney Barnett_ **

* * *

 

Jane fingered the gold of the helmet, its textured grooves forming feathered wings that resembled a combination of the helmets worn by Odin and Thor. It was hers though and would serve as her crown that morning. The headpiece had been forged by the palace’s metalsmiths from the gold of Thor’s helmet as king, per the tradition of succession on Asgard.

“Hræsvelgr,” Heimdall said nodding at the helmet as he entered the antechamber of Iðavöllr Hall. Like Jane, he was dressed in full armor. “Legend says that it is the name of a Jötunn disguised as an eagle. He dwells at the very edge of the Yggdrasil and the beating of his wings is what causes the wind to blow through its branches.”

“Legend or truth?” Jane smiled at Heimdall.

“Legend,” Heimdall said. “One that I felt might become a truth.”

Jane raised an eyebrow at him and Heimdall lifted the helmet and handed it to her. It was lighter than she expected; clearly not made from the same gold found on Midgard. She looked at her reflection in the metal as he spoke again.

“The wind shall always carry seeds of change, Jane, and a strong enough wind cannot be stopped.”

Jane locked eyes with him for a long moment.

“Thank you.” She finally said.

“Once you are crowned, to enable the helmet you must go to Hliðskjálf.”

“The High Seat, where you found Odin?” Jane clarified.

“Yes. Using the royal scepter, Thor was able to repair its entryway before he became too ill, so only the crowned ruler can enter.” Heimdall explained. “You will be able to slip away after opening the Coronation Feast. Sif and Fandral will guard Hliðskjálf while you are inside. I will ensure Valfreyja leaves Asgard.”

“Everything is set then.” Jane nodded.

“Yes, my lady.” Heimdall nodded once and then put his hand on Jane’s shoulder. “I want you to know that I am pleased to be performing this duty. I wish to be Ward of Asgard for none other than you or Thor. If I had to coronate Loki, it would have felt like a traitorous act.”

Jane smiled and stepped away from Heimdall’s touch.

“When the things we honor become treachery, then those who value that honor are traitors to what is just and those who revolt against them become the heroes.” Jane said. “Crowning Loki would not have made you a traitor. Though he was raised into something else, he was born to be a king.”

Heimdall forced a smiled at Jane and looked away.

“This universe no longer has a place for prejudice, Heimdall.” Jane said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “You will do well to cast away such pettiness.”

Heimdall looked sharply at Jane, searching her eyes for a moment before he said, “You will make a fine queen, Jane. I hope that will be enough for our futures.”

“We both know ultimately this will kill me. Midgard’s legends of Ragnarök never included Jane Foster.” Jane said.

“No, but they include an unnamed eagle at the highest branches of Yggdrasil. Is that a coincidence?” Heimdall said.

“Perhaps not.” Jane said. “Perhaps this always happens. Perhaps every cycle of Yggdrasil is the same.”

“You know they are not.” Heimdall said softly.

“Yes, I know.” Jane said. She let out a laugh and added, “Maybe one time you and I found one another before Thor was banished to Midgard. Two lonely souls at the edge of their worlds, searching the stars as their lives’ purpose.”

Heimdall laughed and continued to smile as he said, “I do not wish to think my soul was ever lonely, Jane. But I would not mind searching the stars alongside a mind like yours.”

Jane pushed the helmet into Heimdall’s chest with a grin and said, “It’s nearly time to begin.”

“Sif will be here in a moment to escort you.” Heimdall said.

“See you soon.” Jane said.

Heimdall nodded and turned on his heel to enter Iðavöllr Hall for the coronation ceremony.

Jane turned to the room’s mirror and used magic to give a final polish to her armor.

“You look like a warrior.” Sif said as she approached Jane in the antechamber. “A true queen of Asgard.”

“Thank you, Sif.” Jane smiled. “I’ll be head of the military, so I need to dress the part.”

“I am never opposed to women in armor.” Sif said. She looked down at her own armored attire and added, “Clearly.”

“I’m ready.” Jane stated. She inhaled deeply and released the breath slowly. “Let’s go.”

Sif nodded and pushed ajar one door to the entrance of Iðavöllr Hall. At the cue, two guards opened the doors from inside. Sif entered first, stepping to the side for Jane to enter. Once she did, Sif nodded to the guards, who closed the doors behind them.

“ _Eftirtekt_!” Sif called in a booming voice as she turned on her heel to face the hall. At her ancient command, two lines of the royal guards formed in front of the amassed crowds, creating a clear and protected pathway for Jane’s procession.

As Jane descended the entrance stairs into the hall, Sif remembered how different Thor’s attempted coronation had been. Everyone knew him as prince and loved him like he were still the boy they saw grow up. From the space she now stood, waiting the appropriate amount of paces before following behind Jane, she recalled how Thor had raised mjölnir high into the air to garner the cries of the crowd. His showmanship and lust for adoration had been the trait of his she loved most in those days. It was the trait Loki had hated most. It drove their young trio apart.

As Sif began to follow Jane in procession, her mind lingered again on that night in the flying boat, replaying the sequence so that instead it was she who protested Thor’s speed and claim of Jötunn vision. Loki siding with her against Thor’s reckless behavior so much so that he stopped doing it and complained how boring they were. She could imagine a young Thor pouting at the front of the boat while she and a young Loki shared an amused smile and he took over the steering. She took a deep breath and looked throughout the mostly Æsir crowd amassed for Jane’s coronation ceremony. For the first time in years, she actively noticed the lack of Loki’s grin among them.

Once Jane reached the base of the stairwell, Sif moved to the left side of her and ascended the stairs to stand just above Fandral. Volstagg and Hogun stood beneath him and across the stairwell stood Queen Valfreyja, Queen Nál, Maria Hill, and Skaði. Sif looked to the front row to find the rest of the Midgardians.

Jane kneeled and placed her weapons on the ground before her.

“Jane Foster, Uniter of Realms, you kneel before the throne of Asgard as elected heir. Do you accept this honor and the duties it demands?” Heimdall asked her from the top of the stairs.

“I accept.” Jane said in a loud, confident voice.

“Do you swear to guard the realms?” Heimdall asked.

“I swear.” Jane said.

“Do you swear to preserve the peace?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition for the good of the realm?”

“I swear.” Jane said and met Heimdall’s eyes. There was no space for selfish ambition in her fate. She saw Heimdall release a slow exhale before he looked upon the crowd to issue his final ceremonial line.

“Then on this day, I, Heimdall Ward of Asgard, proclaim you, Jane Foster, as Queen of Asgard, Almother, and Protector of the Realms. Your grace, ascend the throne!”

“Ascend!” the crowd echoed in shouted unison.

At the thousands of unified voices, Jane stood and gracefully walked up the stairs to the throne. Heimdall slid the winged helmet over Jane’s head, the fit comfortable and precise. He pressed the royal scepter into her left hand and they shared a smile. As Heimdall stepped aside, Jane turned to face the hall. It was filled to the brim with Æsir. She looked up to the balconies where the ravens perched on the railings in front of the sniper guards who watched over the ceremony with Asgardian radiation-enhanced arrows.

“Citizens of Asgard, of Midgard, of Vanaheim, and of Jötunheim,” Jane bellowed from her spot in front of the throne. “I stand before you as your Queen and as your Protector and I bring you good news. The long fight between Asgard and Jötunheim is over. Queen Nál and I have bartered a peace and our realms are united once again. With my coronation, the embargo has been lifted and the bridge reestablished between our realms. You are now free to travel and trade with Jötunheim and the Jötnar are free to do so with Asgard.”

A murmur of shock went through the crowd and Sif and Skaði both looked at her and then each other in surprise. As the hushed whispering began, Jane could feel a magnetic energy coursing throughout her, concentrating on her right hand. She stepped forward to the edge of the throne’s platform and opened her hand in anticipation. At this movement the crowd quieted some.

“I know you are afraid. I have been to Jötunheim more than once to meet with its leaders and I have saved the realm of Midgard from destruction with the help of a Jötunn. Trust me when I assure you, there is no reason to fear the Jötnar.” Jane said. A whistling sound hummed through Iðavöllr Hall as mjölnir soared into Jane’s waiting hand. She caught the hammer easily and looked back over the wide-eyed crowd as she added, “As you can see, I am worthy of your trust.”

“My Queen!” a man shouted from the crowd.

Others began to echo him. Except Valfreyja and Nál, those on the stairwell all knelt before her and crossed their right arm to cover their hearts with a fist, the traditional Asgardian salute. After seeing those such as Heimdall, Fandral, and Sif kneeling before Jane, the entirety of the crowd fell to their knees. Jane stepped back to the throne and sat on it.

Once the hall fell silent, all upon one knee, Jane spoke again, “It is time now to celebrate. The traditional Coronation Feast commences!”

* * *

Hela’s abode was less than impressive. Loki stroked the dirt packed walls, cold as ice, but not quite frozen, while Hela organized some items as though she never had guests. Everything in the cave-like home was gray or black, like the endless plains outside, and he felt the guilt rising again for having left his children in such a horrible place. _You did what you had to._ He reminded himself. _If not for this place, they would be dead._

“I know it’s not much for you,” Hela began in an apologetic tone.

“Does it protect you?” Loki asked.

“Yes,” she said then let out a laugh. “Though no one dares test my rage these days.”

“Good,” Loki beamed.

“So, who is king?” Hela asked, turning to face Loki from across the room.

“No one is king.” Loki said. “But there soon will be a queen. Jane Foster, originally of Midgard but now Jötunn and Æsir with Asgardian citizenship, is who was elected by the High Council of the Realms a few Asgardian days ago.”

Night on Hel was eternal and time passed in unclear intervals on the realm and its neighboring realm, Niflheim. Loki knew what Hela deemed a year or a day could mean any length of time, as mercurial as her mood during its passing.

“Jane Foster,” Hela said as if trying on the name for size. “Jane Foster.”

Loki nodded trying to keep his emotions intact. Hela’s embrace had left him raw, susceptible to his too recently reburied heart. He felt himself starting to cry and used magic to mask his tears.

“Father,” Hela said as she crossed the room and placed her hand on his cheek. “Father, you are crying. Who is Jane Foster to you?”

Loki shook his head and tried again to use his magic. A tear fell onto the ground below him and he realized it was of no use. Only dark magic would work on Hel. He looked at Hela and whispered, “I am sorry to show up like this. I have nowhere else to go.”

“Sit.” Hela commanded, leading him to a single chair. Loki noticed the pieces of a similar looking chair broken beside it and stacked against the dirt packed wall.

“You should sit. It’s your house and the other chair is destroyed.” Loki said, shaking his head at his daughter.

“It was Fenrir’s chair. I didn’t need it any longer. Now sit.” Hela said defiantly.

“Fenrir was a wolf last time I saw him.” Loki said, slightly perplexed by the broken chair belonging to his son.

“He learned to change his form to something similar to Æsir. Much like Jörmungandr did, if your stories are true.” Hela said. She paced the room once before saying in a somewhat distant tone, “It must be hard to leave someone you love, someone who is truly like family to you. I like to think Fenrir felt torn over it. Sometimes though…”

“Sometimes what?” Loki asked when Hela did not finish her thought for a few moments.

She spun to face him, her dichromatic eyes ablaze with anger.

“Sometimes I imagine he never loved me to begin with.” She said tightly.

Loki felt stung since the words seemed meant for him. He was trying to phrase out his response when Hela continued to speak, pacing as she did.

“But I cannot control what he does. Only he can control that. Only he can return to me. I cannot go to him. I am bound to rule this place and I cannot leave it.” She said. “I wish it were reversed and I had the easier task.”

“I am here, Hela. I’ve come back.” Loki said finally in an exasperated tone.

She looked at him with a confused expression. Finally she said, “No, I am speaking of Jane Foster, father. Don’t be foolish. I knew you would return for Fenrir and me.”

“Oh,” Loki said dumbly before he could piece together everything. He closed his eyes and breathed in the cold, damp air.

“So, what is the issue? Does she not love you? I will kill her if you’d like.” Hela said as she took in her father’s crumpled appearance. He seemed much older now, as if he had been through war. His eyes reopened, their familiar pale shade of jade shining in the darkness.

“She has to marry someone else for diplomatic reasons.” Loki explained. “But I want her to be successful. She has to be successful. The entire universe is counting on it, even if they do not know it yet. I need you to help me with her success.”

“How?”

“For starters,” Loki said as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and looked pointedly at Hela, “You could begin attending the High Council of the Realms gatherings like you’re supposed to. I was at the last one. You could have seen me there.”

“Fine,” Hela said, clearly displeased with the proposition and accusation. “But I avoided those because being in the same room as Odin Borson would have resulted in me murdering him. We both know your preference was for me not to be executed for regicide.”

“Fair enough,” Loki said. “But Odin is gone and Jane is there in his place. In Thor’s place, really.”

“In your place, father.” Hela said pointedly.

“I elected her.” Loki said.

Hela stared at him.

“It was the right decision. You should go to the next gathering and meet her yourself.” Loki said.

“That you might love someone besides me and Fenrir is so impressive, I think I will.” Hela said. “And I’ll drag Fáfnir along, too. He loves a good spectacle. Oh, to see Surtur’s face when Fáfnir walks in.”

“I’ll be sad to miss it.” Loki laughed.

The strange rivalry between Surtur and Fáfnir ran deeper and longer than any feud Odin and Laufey had held. By the word of those old enough and brave enough to venture into Niflheim or Muspelheim, it was clear that the rivalry only existed between the two men and not their people. Loki chuckled again thinking of the term that Tony Stark would use to describe the pair.

“Why do you laugh?” Hela asked with a grin.

“Just thinking of the Midgardian term for Surtur and Fáfnir.” Loki smiled. “‘Frenemies’ they would say.”

“Frenemies?” Hela said. “Frightened Enemies?”

“Oh I like that, but no. It’s meant to be ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’ as one word.”

“Oh!” Hela said sounding quite pleased with this term. “Frenemies. I like it. I’m going to tease Fáfnir with it. But Midgard, father? Since when did Midgardian terms enter common tongue?”

“Yggdrasil is changing.” Loki said.

“It’s about time.” Hela said.

They shared a look for a moment, the realization of their newfound freedom finally sinking in. Then Loki stood up suddenly and said, “Where would your brother go? I need to find him. I want to tell him the news of Odin and Thor.”

“I cannot be sure,” Hela began in a hesitant tone. Finally she committed to the thought stating, “There was a living being who entered Hel maybe a year before Fenrir left and they formed a bond. The man was not from a race I recognized though, and he did not stay within Hel’s Gates for very long. When I asked where he’d gone, Fenrir said that he had only come to deliver a message, but that the message was not for either of us. About a week later Fenrir began to sing about the clean air of Alfheim and the bright lights of the heavens. That the lights would blind the darkness so only the truth could be seen. I thought he’d gone mad. Maybe he did?”

“You are sure Fenrir is gone?” Loki asked. “Could he not be hiding here somewhere? Outside Hel’s Gate? Could he have died here?”

“Souls do not just disappear in Hel, father. There is a system each soul follows once it arrives, even if it arrives from Hel itself.”

“Unless he did go mad, I think I know where Fenrir went.” Loki said after a long moment of contemplation. “There is rumored to be another realm above the stars, far past Alfheim in the heavens. It is said the light there shines so brightly no darkness can be seen. I never believed it until I read of its existence in Jane’s mind. The Norn, Urðr, told her of a tenth realm and that she would learn of its relevance soon.”

“Jane Foster speaks with the Norns before her coronation?” Hela asked. She sounded impressed.

“I too was surprised.” Loki said with a smile in his eyes. It began to fade into terror as he remembered the rest of Urðr’s warning to Jane. “No, but Urðr also stressed that hopefully she would learn the tenth realm’s relevance in enough time to avoid a war.”

Loki and Hela looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Ride Garmr back to Hel’s Gate and summon the dark energy from the Gjöll to build a portal to the heavens.” Hela said. “Find Fenrir before it is too late.”

Loki kissed her on the forehead and whispered, “I will return for you, my beautiful child.”

“Hurry, father.” Hela said.

* * *

As Jane finally set off for the hallway that led away from feast hall and towards the royal quarters where Hliðskjálf was located, Valfreyja pushed through Heimdall to approach her. Sif and Fandral, who were waiting for her farther ahead, watched on warily with their hands on the helms of their swords.

“Leaving your own festivities so soon, Jane?” Valfreyja said in her pleasant, charming voice.

“Yes, but they are rather more for the people, are they not?” Jane smiled.

Heimdall approached from behind Valfreyja and Sif and Fandral doubled back to stand closer to Jane.

“Three guards, Jane? Do you no longer trust me?” Valfreyja frowned.

“On the contrary, Valfreyja, we are all pleased to have you here. Heimdall wishes to escort you back to the feast and Sif and Fandral are escorting me to my chambers to rest.” Jane said calmly. “I am glad to finally get a chance to speak with you though, as I have been meaning to find you. I wanted to express my excitement for my wedding with Freyr. I know my initial response was hesitant, however I have thought on it more and am quite satisfied with the arrangement.”

“Freyr will be pleased to hear this.” Valfreyja said.

“Good. Please tell your brother that I am most looking forward to our wedding day.” Jane said. “I must inform you though, Valfreyja, on Midgard weddings are the most treasured ceremony of them all. This is something I have looked forward to since I was quite young. I will need time to plan it. I want it to be perfect. Surely you can understand that?”

“Of course. The Vanir strive for perfection.” Valfreyja said.

“I want it to be extravagant. To uphold the values of the Vanir culture as well as my own.” Jane continued. She motioned towards Sif and added, “In fact, Sif has told me of a rare fabric in another galaxy that she is going to acquire for my wedding gown. She claims it is the most exquisite in the universe. I simply will have no less than the utmost best for my wedding. I am certain Freyr would agree.”

“I am certain he would, too.” Valfreyja said and smiled kindly at Jane.

“I am glad to hear it.” Jane said. “I must go now, but I will see you tomorrow at the High Council meeting in Urðarbrunnr.”

Valfreyja nodded respectfully at Jane before allowing Heimdall to escort her back to the feast. As Jane watched her leave, her saccharine smile faded to a cold stare. As the door to the hall closed behind the two figures, Jane spun on her heel and hurried toward the royal quarters with Sif and Fandral on her flank.

Once inside she went straight to the study and pulled out a parchment and quill. She quickly wet the quill and began to scribe furiously on the page.

“Are we not going to Hliðskjálf?” Fandral asked.

“I need to write this law down now, while its purpose is fresh in my mind.” Jane said, not slowing her writing speed. She was using magic to make her words appear in the same beautiful script as Loki’s. She wondered if he could actually write this way unaided. She knew that Sif could.

“Did Loki teach you how to write script, Sif?” Jane asked, still writing.

“Yes, your grace.” Sif said. “Well, he started to anyway.”

“Oh, yes, the lemon pastries. I remember now.” Jane said easily, recalling the sad memory from Loki and Sif’s youth that she had plucked from his brain.

Sif looked away, startled at Jane’s intimate knowledge despite that she had told her before she read Loki’s mind. She noticed Fandral eyeing her and shook her head to indicate that she did not wish to discuss it.

Jane flourished her signature across the bottom of the edict and then pulled the royal seal from its ornate box on the desk. She found the wax near the seal’s box and melted it using magic rather than fire, dripping it by the space next to her signature. After pressing the seal into the wax, she cooled it with magic and then rolled shut the parchment. She handed it to Fandral, who tucked it into a satchel on his belt.

“Make nine copies of this and send it to each of the realms first thing tomorrow morning.” She commanded him.

“Yes, your grace.” Fandral said with a nod.

“Now we go to Hliðskjálf.” Jane said.

They arrived at the location of the entryway quickly, but it appeared to be an ornately carved wooden wall without any door. Jane scanned it for any kind of lock or space in the wood. Nothing stood out to her, not even at the atomic level. _Come on, Thor, you weren’t this clever._ She thought and reached out to touch the wood. At her touch the wood’s seams began to shimmer as Æsir radiation rushed into the carving like a gold liquid to fill the inlay.

“Curious,” Fandral said.

“It looks like the Vanir walls.” Sif said.

“Not quite,” Jane said as a door handle formed from the gold liquid. “Reminds me more of Tony’s lab.”

She turned the handle to open the door and it released a blinding flash of gold light. When Sif and Fandral’s vision recovered, Jane had disappeared and all that remained was the carved wooden wall. Sif pushed against the wall and nothing happened. She slammed her palm on the wood, but it resonated only as wood does.

“Where is she?” Sif exclaimed.

“Inside Hliðskjálf, I presume.” Fandral said with a laugh. “Good repair work, Thor.”

~.~.~

Jane found herself inside a circular room, similar in size and structure to the Observatory. In its center was a massive column of gold light that transcended upwards and downwards through the room and seemingly on forever in either direction. Noise came from the light, like whispers and laughs. Jane listened more closely, shutting her eyes to focus. She could hear screams and the crackling of fire. The rushing of water and battle cries. She heard the smashing of ice and the clash of metal. Jane opened her eyes and found herself next to column of gold light, as if it had drawn her to it while she was listening. She tentatively put her hand into the flowing beams and a magnetic sensation flowed through her, like when she formed the connection with mjölnir. She inhaled sharply. Heimdall had said to enable her helmet she would have to come here. Perhaps it was the light itself that brought the helmet to life.

“No time like the present.” Jane muttered to herself before taking a deep breath and leaning her head into the light. Her helmet entered first and the magnetic sensation became a buzzing hum, like an electric current. She kept going until her entire head was inside of the column. Once fully immersed, the buzzing stopped and she heard a single click before the pain began. It was similar to the feeling when Loki pulled his mind from hers, only more acute. She let out a scream of anguish and began to pant. Finally she opened her eyes and the pain immediately ceased.

Jane was no longer in the column of light, but rather surrounded by memories that kept shifting after a few seconds, like someone changing the TV channel at rapid fire speed. The events of each memory were critical, realm-changing: key moments of diplomatic discussions, turning points of battles, weaknesses of assumed enemies. Voices began to flow from within the memories and Jane could pull out two of them immediately: Odin and Thor.

A memory shifted and she found herself in Utgard, surrounded by angry, tense Jötnar guards. Loki’s voice was in her ear from behind saying, “Thor, stop and think. Look around you, we’re outnumbered.” Before she could calm her fluttering heart from its reaction to the sound of Loki’s voice, she found herself replying for Thor, using his voice to say, “Know your place, brother.” A massive Jötunn said to them both in a reflectively grave tone, as if he were a father speaking to his child, “You know not what your actions will unleash. I do.” Jane realized this was Laufey. His cheekbone structure was too similar to that of Loki and Skaði not to be their father.

The memory shifted. Now she was on a realm engulfed in flame, fire surrounding her on all sides. “You will live to regret this decision, Odin.” A charred colored giant was saying. Jane realized he must be a Fire Giant, the main race of Muspelheim, formally referred to as Eldjötnar. Jane found herself speaking as Odin to say, “I will live, Surtur. That is true. No Asgardian will ever regret my decision to imprison you here, however.” Surtur spoke again, flicking out his fiery tongue in a last ditch effort to strike Odin before saying, “There will be one. She will know how inept you are, old man. She will see the truth.” Jane found herself walking away from Surtur, a younger Frigga at her side, probably only 1,700 years old. “What does he mean? Can you see?” Jane asked as Odin. “I cannot see this yet. I will let you know in time if there is truth to his words.” Frigga said softly. Jane let out a deep breath as Odin before looking over the burning plains of the destroyed realm of Muspelheim. She spoke as Odin, “You don’t think he means Aldrif?” Frigga took Odin’s hand in the memory and squeezed it. “No, my love. She will never doubt Surtur’s malevolence.” She said to Odin.

The memory shifted to a large battle between the Jötnar and Æsir. Jane had no interest in this and said in an authoritative tone, “Stop.” The memory disappeared and she found only gold light in her vision. “Show me the memory of Loki’s abduction.” The column of light swirled to a blizzard of snow. Jane found herself huddled in the cold, perched on the outer windowsill of an icy hut listening intently to a conversation being had on the other side. She quickly realized she was in the form of the raven, Muninn. She recognized the voices conversing as belonging to Nál and Frigga and could just make out the outlines of their figures through the iced over window.

“Now that we know the truth of his future, we must ensure Loki is more powerful than Thor.” Frigga was saying.

“Then make him king.” Nál replied.

“No, there is no influence in that.” Frigga said.

“Tell that to the rest of the realms.” Nál said angrily.

“Not the influence we need. He must be loved and trusted by all. As we saw in the looms of the Norns, if he is to defeat the Mad Titan, Thanos, he will need all of the realms’ support.” Frigga urged.

“What do you suggest? How am I to help _your_ son?” Nál asked pointedly. Jane knew that tone. Nál was incensed with Frigga’s insensitivity.

“We will groom him into an ambassador of the realms.” Frigga said decisively, almost with a lingering pride.

“We?” Nál asked. “ _You_ are the one raising my baby, not me.”

“Yes, and just like you, he is stubborn and insolent.” Frigga said flatly. “He won’t stop crying. I need your help. I am desperate, Nál.”

“Then give him back to me.”

“You know we cannot do that. Odin christened him publicly. He is Asgardian now. He is an Asgardian Prince. Thor believes it’s his real little brother.” Frigga said.

“Do you think I give a damn about Thor?” Nál snarled.

“Nál, Laufey will kill Loki if he returns now. You know this.” Frigga said softly. “I am offering you the chance to help raise your son. I will not offer this again.”

“He needs ice.” Nál said after a long moment.

“Ice?”

“It’s far too hot on Asgard for a Jötunn baby.” Nál explained. “Start giving him ice baths and he will calm down. At least a little bit… I cannot help you much with the tantrums once they begin. There is a reason Jötnar have little possessions. It is fewer things to destroy.”

Frigga laughed before saying, “Believe me, Thor’s tantrums will likely outnumber Loki’s.”

“The rage courses through his veins, Frigga. If you take that lightly, you are a fool.”

“There’s something more.” Frigga said after a moment.

Jane felt her raven body become more alert.

“What more could you ask of me?” Nál said.

“As an ambassador he will need to speak all the languages of the realms. The ruler of Asgard will have the ease of Alspeak, so no training is relevant. But Loki will need to learn to speak them, write them, have full command of them.” Frigga said easily. “I will bring him here every week until he is old enough to remember. I will leave him in your care if you speak only in Jötunn to him.”

“And once he’s old enough to remember? How will we teach him to write and read? You don’t know Jötunn.” Nál said.

“I have Ljós magic, true magic. I can make you appear Æsir.” Frigga said.

“Never.” Nál said without hesitation. “I will never be known to my own son as anything but myself.”

“Then you will never be known to your son.” Frigga pressed. A baby began to cry and Jane saw Frigga pass it to Nál to soothe.

“The discussion is closed.” Nál said as she accepted the child. His cries quieted at her touch and his skin shifted to an icy blue color.

Jane felt her raven body take flight and the memory became the bright column of gold light. Jane pulled her face from the light and stepped backwards a few paces to catch her breath. There was a daybed two paces farther back from where she stepped, about four man’s length paces away from the column of light. Jane walked the extra two paces for herself and grabbed the daybed underneath to pull it closer to the light. She sat and focused on her breathing. _Does Loki know this?_ She wondered. She had never seen it in his memories. _Maybe he can remember being taken from his mother by Odin only because of the trauma involved._

As she went over the memory she just experienced again in her mind, she heard a movement on the other side of the room. She stiffened until she heard someone clear his throat. It was undoubtedly the ‘ahem’ noise of Thor. Jane walked around the column of gold light to find Thor smiling at her.

“Jane Foster, Queen of Asgard.” Thor said.

Jane ran to him and embraced his frame tightly. He lifted her up and spun her around once before putting her down.

“What are you… how are you here?” She asked after pulling away from him.

“You thought of me.” Thor said.

“I was thinking about Loki and Frigga. I came here to talk to Frigga, actually. Where is she?” Jane asked.

“In Valhalla. Only former rulers can appear to you in Hliðskjálf.” Thor explained, leaning in to add, “And only if you let us.”

“I see.” Jane said. “And how do I let you or not?”

“You think of us or you don’t.” Thor said. “You have to want to see us.”

“So I wanted to see you?” Jane laughed.

“I suppose with Loki leaving it has been hard on your courage. It is likely you wanted to see him, but I am the closest thing to him you will find here.”

“Then let’s go to Valhalla and find Frigga, so I might locate him in the living realms and stop this war.” Jane said.

Thor smiled at her for a long moment, his blue eyes sad. Finally he let out a sigh and said, “Let us go to Frigga now. Watch closely how the portal works.”

“The portal?”

“Yes, the column of gold light is Gullbrú, the portal to the dead of Valhalla. It links to all the memories shared by the former rulers of Asgard, but it also will connect you to Valhalla, which is part of the Asgardian realm and thus part of your domain.” Thor said, holding out his hand to Jane.

Jane took his hand and he led them to the light.

“We just have to walk through the light.” He said and then walked into the column of light.

They emerged on the other side and the room seemed the same. Jane looked at Thor to ask if that was normal and let out a gasp at his appearance. He was grey and sallow, almost like his insides were hollowed out and his skin was collapsing in on his empty frame.

“I am dead, Jane.” Thor said. “We are in Valhalla now, the realm of the dead.”

Jane nodded, taking a breath before saying, “Let’s find Frigga.”


	24. Chapter 24

**_Songs for this chapter: “Sword and Council” by Brian Tyler; “To The Stars” by Tyler Bates_ **

* * *

Jane followed Thor out the door of Hliðskjálf into Valhalla. Everything looked mostly the same as on Asgard, but there was a faint golden glow to all the inanimate objects, as if they were embedded with Asgardian radiation. Sif and Fandral stood guarding Hliðskjálf’s entryway, vibrantly colored just like they were back in the living version of Asgard. They paid her no attention.

“Can they not see us?” Jane asked.

“Who?” Thor asked.

“Sif and Fandral. They stand right here and here.” Jane said pointing to them. Cautiously she asked, “Can you not see them?”

Thor frowned and then his sallow face seemed to light up briefly.

“For a moment, just then, I could see Sif.” Thor said. “I can only see the living if they are thinking of me while I am thinking of them.”

“So you cannot see Fandral?”

“No, he rarely thinks of me. I am sure he is distracted by other, more pressing things.” Thor said with a suggestive grin. His grin disappeared as he looked at Jane and added, “Much like you.”

Jane blushed and cleared her throat before saying, “Where is Frigga?”

“Likely in her room or perhaps in Loki’s quarters.” Thor shrugged.

“Her room is closer.” Jane said and headed towards the queen’s chambers. Thor followed and Jane took in all the guards as they walked. Hundreds of these einherjar—all sallow and gray like Thor—filled the narrow halls of the royal quarters. Every so often she would see a living guard, striking in his vibrancy. The dead cleared out of their way, some nodding at her and all of them nodding at Thor. _Great,_ Jane thought. _Even the dead don’t respect me as queen._

“Does everyone come here in death? I thought Hel and Niflheim hosted the dead?” Jane asked Thor. “There are just so many people. More than I expected.”

“It is only those who die gloriously, which is to say through sacrifice.” Thor said. “But it is all of those, spanning every millennia of Asgard’s existence.”

“And Odin? Is he here?”

“Of course,” Thor said. “All kings—and queens—come to Valhalla in death.”

Jane nodded.

They went into the royal chambers to find them empty. She marched through to Frigga’s room and looked back to Thor.

“Should I knock?”

Thor laughed and shook his head. Jane pushed open the door and walked in to find Frigga sitting with a Jötunn woman on two sitting chairs by the fireplace. The chairs were not in the living version of this room. Though grey and clearly dead, both women flashed Jane a smile.

“Jane! You’ve arrived.” Frigga said. She nodded to Thor and he left the room. Frigga motioned to the Jötunn woman and said, “May I introduce you to Bestla, former Queen of Asgard.”

“Nice to meet you. You were Bor’s wife?” Jane asked.

“Yes, I was.” She smiled. “But that is neither here nor there. Come here, child. I need to see for myself.”

Jane stood in place warily.

“Bestla does not believe another Jötunn Queen of Asgard exists.” Frigga explained.

“I am many things.” Jane said to Bestla. She studied her markings. “You are from Queen Nál’s tribe.”

“Yes, Nál is my daughter.” Bestla said.

“Really?”

“Yes, it is quite common for Jötnar to parent many children with many different partners.” Bestla said simply. She then looked at Jane quite directly and added, “You shouldn’t feel ashamed. It is part of who you are.”

“What do I have to feel ashamed about?” Jane asked.

Bestla looked to Frigga, who gave her a simple nod, and then turned back to Jane.

“I do not speak of now; I speak of your future actions. Loki will want you to feel ashamed, but you should not. Remember that when the time comes.”

Jane nodded, wondering what she meant. She painted it like Jane would mother a child with someone other than Loki. It was in that moment she realized she had no idea how Jötunn pregnancy worked. It seemed like a question better suited for Skaði, or even Nál. Either way, it was not a hot topic for her at the moment, and she cleared her throat to address Frigga. Before she could, Frigga spoke.

“Loki has gone to Heven, though he does not know its name.” Frigga said.

“I’m sorry? Heaven is where Humans think they go when they die. Well, some humans think that.” Jane said.

“Different concepts.” Frigga waved it off. “Heven is the Tenth Realm, the realm of the Angels.”

“Why is it secret?” Jane asked.

“Please come and sit. There are some things you need to know.” Frigga said and motioned a chair into existence.

“You can perform magic here?” Jane asked in surprise.

“How do you think I’ve sent you messages?” Frigga smiled.

Jane sat in the chair and held her hand out to Bestla.

“I am from your tribe.” She said as Bestla took her hand.

Jane’s form shifted to Jötunn and Bestla let out a delighted laugh.

“So you are.” She said.

Jane tugged back her hand, fading to Æsir, and looked at Frigga. “Tell me.” She said.

Frigga smiled at the command then launched into it.

“The Angels are descendants of the Archangels, who were Celestials. Celestials are creatures similar to Titans.”

“Titans? Like the Mad Titan, Thanos?” Jane asked.

“Yes, did the looms…?” Frigga trailed off.

“There was a memory of Muninn’s vision.” Jane said cautiously, unsure if Frigga knew that Thor spied on her.

“Of me and Nál?” Frigga asked with a nod. “Will you tell Loki?”

“Assuming I find him, no. I would rather Nál tell him.” Jane said. “She deserves the chance.”

Bestla smiled, pleased with Jane’s thinking.

“So the Celestials…they are massive creatures who exist beyond the restrictions of reality, more or less?” Jane said quickly.

“Yes, they are creatures of the Ginnungagap, like the Titans, and they have assigned roles. For instance, Azrael is the Archangel of Death.”

“Azrael? Are they all men?” Jane asked.

“They are without gender.” Bestla said.

“Like the Norns.” Jane said.

“No, the Norns are women. Female Jötnar.” Bestla shook her head.

“No,” Jane said and remembered what Urðr told her. “Oh, you’ve not seen them. Well, not the real them. Only the Protector of the Realms can do that.”

“Interesting,” Bestla said.

“The Archangels created the Angels by reproducing with non-Celestials, like Æsir, Vanir, Jötnar, and the Elves, before the elves split their magic into Dark and Light many cycles ago.” Frigga explained. “Over time the Archangels decided their descendants were to oversee the other Nine Realms, except for Muspelheim.”

“Why not the Eldjötnar?” Jane asked.

“They deemed them demons.” Frigga said in a voice that indicated she agreed. Jane recalled the memory of Frigga and Odin imprisoning Surtur. Based on Odin’s history of abhorrent behavior, Jane was willing to give the Eldjötnar a shot.

“So why is Asgard in charge then? How could the Æsir possibly defeat Celestials?” Jane asked.

“We did not.” Frigga said. “Odin was able to sever the link between their realm and the other nine. He banished them from entering the rest of Yggdrasil and erased all records of their existence from the realms.”

“Even Muspelheim?” Jane asked.

“No, Muspelheim had already been banished by then.”

“When you imprisoned Surtur?” Jane asked.

“Yes,”

“With what power?” Jane asked.

“The Alfather’s power. It cannot be severed by death, except the death of Asgard itself. It belongs to the radiation that forms the branches.” Frigga explained.

“Well, there’s a loophole because Surtur is free. He voted against me at the High Council.” Jane said. “So, any advice you have on him would be helpful.”

“Kill him, is my advice.” Frigga said coldly.

“I need all the realms to defeat Thanos. I do not plan to kill Surtur for no reason.”

“A wise decision.” Bestla said and eyed Frigga. “The follies of those before you do not need to be repeated. I can tell you that while the Eldjötnar seem to be made of fire, they cannot burn the Jötnar with their bodies or tongues. Any other species, however, would not enjoy their touch, and most would die from it. Also you will learn this quickly, but Nál and Surtur loathe each other for reasons I do not understand.”

“Thank you.” Jane said. _Maybe Bestla will be more useful than I thought._ “So if Odin broke the link and no one knows it even exists, how is Loki going to Heven? And why does it matter?”

“You knew of the realm from the Norns, so he will know of it by now from reading your mind. As to why it matters…” Frigga trailed off and looked like she might cry. Jane wondered if the dead could cry. “We stopped a war from coming to us, but in return the Angels took something precious from Asgard. If Loki steps on their land, it will not only reform the link due to his Æsir radiation, it will be perceived as an attack. That he is coming to reclaim what they stole.”

“And what will they do to him?” Jane asked.

“Kill him on sight.” Frigga said.

“And if he cloaks himself and they cannot see him?” Jane asked.

“They can see through true magic.” Frigga warned.

“This war that Odin stalled, was it only with the Æsir?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Vanir, the Jötnar, should they be warned?” Jane asked.

“If you can stop Loki, then nothing will happen. Let me show you on the charts where it is.” Frigga stood.

“Goodbye Jane.” Bestla said with a smile. “I look forward to your rule.”

“Thank you,” Jane managed to get out before Frigga transported her to the Observatory.

“Look out at the stars.” Frigga said. “I will give you Heimdall’s sight.”

Jane looked out into the abyss of space, seeing merely the stars for a few moments until Frigga did some magic that gave her Heimdall’s sight. Suddenly the universe seemed to expand. All of the living echoed in her mind, chattering across the realms. She played with her focus and tried to find Darcy’s voice amongst the crowded speech. She focused her mind towards the Earth and specifically to London. Darcy’s laugh rang through her ears and she could see her with Ian, watching trashy television shamelessly on the couch of Jane’s London flat. Jane smiled at this, pleased her friend seemed happy, despite her terrible taste in TV and mooching off the free living space.

“Let me know when you’ve adjusted to the noise.” Frigga said.

“I have.” Jane replied. Mind linking with her Jötunn tribe made this experience easier.

“Impressive.” Frigga remarked, mostly to herself, and then pulled out the star charts. “You see here, where the Heavens Cloisters should meet the Svalinn Sun?”

Jane looked at the old chart and nodded, seeing the abnormal gap. They had erased it from the records.

“Now, look out there.” Frigga said with a nod to the stars beyond them.

Jane looked. In the space that was blank on the chart glowed a bright sphere, its light stronger than the Svalinn Sun beside it. Jane’s focus intensified, seeking out any signs of Loki. To her relief, he was not on the realm. A host of others were though; she could hear them. They spoke of nothing special, normal day to day happenings of life. They blended into the rest of the realms’ chatter. If Jane hadn’t known the Angels existed, she would never have noticed. Neither would have Heimdall.

“Loki is not there.” Jane told Frigga.

“Then there is still time.”

“I will send a party to intercept him. It won’t be safe to go as Queen of Asgard.” Jane said. She turned to Frigga and added, “Thank you for your help.”

“Any time.” Frigga said.

Frigga undid Heimdall’s sight from Jane’s mind and Jane transported them back to the palace. She bid Frigga farewell and headed to Hliðskjálf. Time was not on her side if Loki was on his way to Heven. She needed to send Sif and Skaði to intercept him immediately, and she needed a plan for him once he arrived back on Asgard. As she hurried back to the Gullbrú, the perfect plan dawned on her.

~.~.~

“Earlier today, I issued a new proclamation securing a law that already is present in nearly all of the realms. The ravens have been sent updating Yggdrasil of this change.” Jane said to the High Council of the Realms. It was their first meeting at Urðarbrunnr with Jane crowned as Queen of Asgard. All the leaders who had been at the gathering in which she had been elected were present today, along with Maria Hill, who had agreed to represent Midgard, and Faradei of Alfheim. He had complimented Jane on her skills in true magic upon his arrival, admitting that they had been watching her and Loki closely during their time on Alfheim.

“What is the law?” Nál asked.

“It is the law protecting people from all forms of sexual assault.” Jane said. “But I wanted to move on to something the High Council must actually decide on, which is how often we wish to meet. Currently we—”

“You cannot just put a law into effect that affects all the realms!” Surtur yelled. “Odin would never have attempted such blasphemy.”

“Odin’s inertia led Yggdrasil into decay.” Jane said. She looked at Surtur directly to add, “I remind you this is not a democracy. This is a unification of realms. Should Muspelheim wish to cede, we will find no problems destroying that branch of Yggdrasil and refusing aid and protection against attack to that realm. Perhaps you might discuss such endeavors with your Eldjötnar subjects before interrupting me again.”

Surtur glared at her with his yellow, snakelike eyes, and she turned back to address the group.

“As I was saying, currently we meet maybe every year and things have begun to fall into a…questionably chaotic order.” Jane continued. “I move to meet more often, possibly quarterly by the Asgardian annual cycle.”

As Nál, Alvíss, and Valfreyja made motion to agree, Surtur thrust his fiery tongue out across the table towards Maria Hill with what would be a fatal blow for a mortal. Jane caught it midair, the fire singing her Æsir flesh as the tongue wrapped around her arm like a rope whip until her Jötunn form emerged and froze the fire.

“We do not strike fellow Council members, Surtur.” Jane said to him like he was a child.

“You will rue the day of Fáfnir’s return.” Nál growled at him, her protective instincts of their shared bloodline kicking in at the sight of Jane’s injury. “A Rime Giant and two Frost Giants against your pathetic Eldur lashings? A sight I’d like to see.”

“Nál, please, calm down. It is only Surtur.” Valfreyja said in a placating tone.

Jane noticed Faradei look between Valfreyja and Surtur as if trying to determine whether they were sleeping together or not. Eldjötnar were not exactly compatible with anyone other than Eldjötnar, but Jane knew Valfreyja would change a person to fit her needs. _Perhaps Faradei knows this, too._ Jane thought and marked him as a risk to her ultimate plan.

“Fáfnir will never return.” Surtur hissed, clearly not needing his tongue to speak. “He is probably dead, drowning eternally in his sea of snakes.”

“Oh, never say never, old man.” Someone who looked like a white Frost Giant boomed jovially from the entrance to Urðarbrunnr. He was not alone. A woman walked at his side, carrying herself as confidently as he did, and he held something in his arms that appeared to be a very large lizard.

“By the Norns,” Surtur whispered as the pair entered, his body temperature rising slightly, hotter than Jane thought possible for a living being. She noticed his heartbeats had increased tempo and wondered the relationship between him and the newcomers.

Jane stood and walked to greet them knowing Nál would protect Maria if Surtur was foolish enough to try and strike her again.

“You must be Jane Foster, Queen of Asgard.” The white giant said. “I am Fáfnir, King of Niflheim.”

“What is that?” Jane asked him, looking at the massive lizard and noting that white giants were Rime Giants.

“This is Níðhöggr, my dragon.” Fáfnir replied.

“May I?” Jane asked, reaching out her hand to pet it.

“No, he really hates the…” Fáfnir began, trailing off as Jane ran her hand over the dragon’s scaly back, using magic to calm the beast and successfully draw purrs from Níðhöggr. Fáfnir finished his thought in shock, saying, “…living. He usually hates the living.”

“A trait shared with his owner, I presume.” Jane said with a sly grin.

The woman next to Fáfnir let out a giggle and Jane turned to her to see she had a dual colored face. It had not been immediately apparent before, but one side was the dullish gray of Æsir death offset by a Jötunn-red eye, and the other was a striking porcelain color, rosy with life and accented by a brilliant jade colored eye. The familiarity of that shade of green combined with the Jötunn red took Jane off guard. It was as if she was looking at both of Loki’s eye colors at once. She let out a gasp and the woman frowned slightly, as though she were disappointed with Jane’s reaction to her appearance.

“Your eye colors,” Jane said, shaking her head. “They are identical to those of someone I know.”

“Really? No one has ever told me this about both of my eyes.” The woman said, her frown transforming into an easy smile as she asked, “Do you know this someone well?”

“Yes,” Jane managed, quickly containing her visible emotions with magic. The woman’s smile too was identical to Loki’s. Different than how Skaði was similar to him. Unsettling, as if he were there in this woman’s form, peering at her through her dichromatic eyes.

The woman searched Jane’s face for a moment before saying in a louder, confident tone, “I am Hela, Ruler of Hel. I received your ravens and thought I would come see how Yggdrasil fares without Bor’s wretched lineage ruling it.”

“We are glad to have you at the High Council, Hela. And you, Fáfnir, welcome back.” Jane said. She looked at the dragon he held and added, “Unfortunately within the walls of Urðarbrunnr only High Council members are allowed, and as lovely as Níðhöggr is, he will need to wait outside until we adjourn.”

“Really?” Fáfnir asked.

Jane merely nodded and walked back to her place at the head of the table. She would rather the small dragon be in the meeting, mostly to spite Valfreyja, but rules were rules. If Otta had to wait outside, so would Níðhöggr. A line from Loki’s letter swam through her mind briefly: _I lack the compassion to be fair._

* * *

Sif fingered the sealed parchment that Jane left with her and Skaði to give to Loki. She wondered what was written inside. What Jane would say to convince Loki to come home. She hoped it was enough since she had no ideas of her own and Skaði did not seem to either. A beep sounded from the navigation console, calling her attention to the map of the Heavens Cloisters.

“We are entering uncharted territory now.” She said to Skaði. “I have turned on the cartographer as Jane requested, but we should mind the visuals. Anything could be out here.”

“It is strange to know another realm has existed all this time.” Skaði said from the front of the Asgardian spacecraft. She looked out the front window trying to catch a glimpse of everything they passed in the Heavens Cloisters. The light from what appeared to be thousands of stars made it somewhat difficult to see, even with the Asgardian technology filtering the faux starlight. This region was the brightest part of the Yggdrasil, even though it was technically beyond the stars. No Jötunn had been beyond the Heavens Cloisters before.

The Bifröst had only taken them as far as the collection of habitable asteroids known as Alfheim’s Archipelago. From their spacecraft, everything there had seemed empty of life. She knew though the Light Elves were generally invisible except when they wished to be seen. Entire cities could be on every asteroid of the archipelago and no one but the Light Elves would see them. At least that was what they were taught on Jötunheim. Skaði was about to ask Sif if Asgard taught the same when she saw something move.

“Did you see that?” she asked Sif.

Sif moved to the window and said, “No. What was it?”

“There!” Skaði pointed to the figure that seemed to float through the space nearby their ship.

“It is Loki! Thank the Norns.” Sif said enthusiastically.

“I am not so certain.” Skaði said with caution and added, “I should be able to feel him in my blood. Besides, he cannot survive in space unaided.”

Both women looked closer and gasped as the being turned towards their spacecraft and seemed to look at them directly. His hair was black and wild like Loki’s, but it was his eyes that forced the gasp from them. Their unnatural jade color was distinct and incredibly familiar.

“The windows are reflective, correct?” Skaði asked.

“Correct. Whoever that is, he cannot see in.” Sif said, but her voice quavered. It felt like he could see into the ship, into their souls. It felt like he knew their purpose in this place and that he did not approve.

“He’s coming towards us.” Skaði whispered.

“I will hail him. Perhaps it is an outer guard?” Sif said, forcing herself to be practical to combat her fear.

“Wait,” Skaði grabbed Sif’s arm to stop her movement towards the communications panel. “Listen.”

Sif could not hear anything for a long enough moment that she was about ask Skaði for clarification, but then a noise ruptured through her as if it possessed her. A wailing howl.

Sif’s mind went blank for a moment, as if her brain emptied out. Her chest heaved a final breath before she could no longer pull more air into her lungs. Then she blacked out.

“What happened?” Sif asked slowly as she came to.

Skaði shook her head and stared out the window, unsure how much time had passed while they were blacked out.

The being who uncannily resembled Loki halted his approach and the howling stopped. He continued to stare at their spacecraft’s window as if he could see through it and lifted a hand, as if to beckon them towards him.

“I should hail him.” Sif said.

The spacecraft began to move towards the being.

“Are you doing that?” Skaði asked in a panicked voice.

“No.” Sif said, running to the controls. “The system has been manipulated. I must manually override it.”

“Can I help?” Skaði asked, running to Sif’s side.

“No, probably not. It only responds to Æsir touch.” Sif said. “I do not understand how he is doing this. He has taken down our shields and our weapons are offline. We are sitting eider.”

“He must see us as a threat.” Skaði said. “We will have to hail him.”

“Follow the plan?” Sif asked, turning to Skaði.

Skaði nodded and Sif took a deep breath.

“Ready?” Skaði asked.

Sif nodded.

“Sorry,” Skaði said and then punched Sif in the face. Sif recoiled in pain and Skaði hit her again and then again. She hurriedly bound Sif’s hands and put the muzzle over her mouth. She took a vial of Jane’s blood and wiped some on her inner wrist, quickly turning into Jötunn form. “Okay, signal the hail.”

Sif swiped the Hail command and live video feed of the Loki lookalike filled the control panel screen.

“I am Skaði of Jötunheim and I demand you release my ship.” Skaði said in a threatening tone.

“Skaði of Jötunheim, you are trespassing on a protected region of space and you are lying.” the being replied with a sly grin.

“I do not lie. You will release my ship at once.” Skaði growled in a hard tone.

“Your Asgardian ship, Jötunn? How foolish do you believe me to be?” he asked.

He sounded so much like Loki, it was unsettling. Almost like when Jane imitated him in their fight. Skaði realized this could be a Light Elf using magic. It would explain why she could not feel his blood. Something inside of her told her otherwise though. Her Vanir Light could sense no magic. She knew she should follow the plan.

“I commandeered this ship from the Asgardian Warrior, Sif, and disposed of the rest of the crew. She is my prisoner.” Skaði said, grabbing Sif forcefully and pulling her close enough for her beaten face to be visible on the transmitting Hail imagery. “You will release my ship.”

“You have entered the Realm of Heven, Skaði of Jötunheim and Sif of Asgard. You have no rights here.” He turned to his right and called out, “Azrael, they have arrived.”

Sif wished that Skaði had not punched her in the face now. The feeling of dread rising in her chest was one she knew too well from battle. They had entered a trap.

“What is your name? Who are you?” Skaði yelled in a masked tone of anger. Sif could tell she was as frightened as her.

The being looked at them again and said, “My name is Fenrir and I am an Angel.”

He then cut the Hail transmission and the control screen went blank before repopulating with the processing graphic from the cartographer. Sif and Skaði looked at one another with confusion. Jane had not explained what an Angel was, let alone that it existed.

When they turned back to the window, Fenrir had transformed into a massive, glowing wolf. His eyes were Jötunn red and he let out a snarl before turning and running away from them. As a thrust of sudden movement sent Sif and Skaði flying to the back of the spacecraft, they quickly realized he was towing them, not running away.

Skaði undid Sif’s restraints and they both quickly found seats and buckled up to avoid further injury.

“Now what?” Skaði asked Sif.

“We follow the plan.” Sif said and Skaði nodded.

“No, I don’t think so.” Loki said, appearing out of thin air in front of the navigation console. He threw up a cloaking device around them with the meager level of dark magic he knew and turned to face the gaping faces of Sif and Skaði.

“Wh--what?” was all Sif could manage.

“I snuck onboard when you were attacked.” Loki explained. “Remember when you both blacked out? That little trick wasn’t me. I’m only admitting so much since it was so impressive. Whoever this Fenrir guy is, he’s powerful.”

Loki looked at them for reactions. Neither seemed to suspect anything about Fenrir’s identity.

“We have you now. We need to get out of here.” Skaði said. She could feel this was truly Loki and had no desire to stay one more second in Heven. If he could sneak onboard, then maybe he could get them away from Fenrir.

“Your plan was to capture me?” Loki asked. “How did you know I’d be here?”

“Frigga,” Sif said.

“Frigga?” Loki asked, puzzled. _Has she come back from the dead?_

“She also told Jane that this realm could see through true magic, so nothing you’re doing right now is working.” Sif said and Loki realized Jane had entered Valhalla. She was crowned.

“Who says I’m using true magic?” Loki grinned.

“Since when do you know dark magic?” Skaði asked, approaching Loki slowly.

Loki smiled at her and said nothing.

“Why did you come here, Loki?” Sif asked.

“Unfinished business.” Loki said. He glanced out the window at Fenrir and then looked back at them. “You two should leave though. It has nothing to do with either of you. This realm is unsafe.”

“We are not leaving without you.” Sif said.

“How will you detain me?” Loki asked. He nodded towards the front window and added, “Furthermore, how will you defeat him without my help?”

Skaði let out a sigh and Sif marched over to Loki and shoved Jane’s sealed parchment into his chest.

“What is this?” he asked.

“An edict from your queen.” Sif said and pushed him aside to see if the controls were working again. They were not.

Loki walked away from them to open the letter. Its brief and pointed contents filled him with simultaneous panic and bliss. He concealed the letter with true magic and hurried to the console, stepping forcefully in front of Sif to gain access to the controls.

“We have to go back to Asgard.” He said. “Jane left you both letters that will reveal themselves once we are free of this realm.”

“Just like that?” Skaði asked.

Loki looked at Fenrir once more with a silent longing before he severed the connection between the spacecraft and his son. He wondered what Fenrir meant when he called himself an Angel. The race was foreign to Loki; it did not exist in any history account he had read or heard or forced out of someone. All Loki knew was that when his son had identified himself as an Angel, an immense turmoil overcame him right down to the marrow of his core.

The angry growl of his wolf child sounded through the spacecraft and Loki hurriedly threw up the shields and reversed the engines. _Another day, son._ He thought and then flipped on the hyper-drive.

Once they reached maximum velocity, he turned to Skaði and said, “Just like that.”

Sif watched in awe as Loki expertly maneuvered them through the asteroid belt above Alfheim at such a high speed. He slowed down the ship and dove into Alfheim’s atmosphere, soaring through the seemingly empty plains and down into a river canyon.

“Where are you taking us?” Sif demanded. They were well past Alfheim’s Bifröst gate.

“Read your letters.” Loki said and waved towards the side of the control panel where two parchments had appeared, attached to the console with a binding of Æsir radiation.

Sif and Skaði ripped open the royal seals and began to read. Loki took advantage of their distracted attention to slip into the waterfall that covered the passageway to Jötunheim. By the time their terrified screams filled the cabin, the spacecraft had slipped through the crack in the ice wall and into the frozen realm where he and Skaði were born.

“As you can see, we have to make some pit stops first.” Loki said. He smiled at them and added, “Then we can go crash Jane’s wedding.”


	25. Chapter 25

**_Songs for this Chapter: “Experience” by Ludovico Einaudi and “Birth of Ultron” by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

Sif felt her throat tighten as she, Loki, and Skaði entered Utgard. The last time she was here she killed dozens of Jötnar. _That was years ago._ She reminded herself. _Plus you are flanked by two Jötnar now._

Loki used magic to further warm Sif, the fur cloak he produced with magic seeming to do very little as she was still shaking. He focused a moment on her body’s tempos and realized she was just scared. Loki took Sif’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. He would be lying if he claimed not to be scared himself, but Jane set his reacceptance into Jötunheim’s lineage as the top requirement of his return. Skaði’s letter had confirmed the same requirement.

“Are we sure it would not be better for me to wait in the ship?” Sif asked for the third time.

“They hate me more than you, Sif.” Loki said.

“They will listen to me.” Skaði said. “Have faith, both of you.”

Loki laughed to himself, thinking of Jane’s similar words when they were trying to save the Æsir from Black Fire.

“When should I link in?” he asked Skaði, referencing their tribe’s shared telepathic link while nodding at the closest orb of orka floating along their path to the throne room.

“I have to talk to you about something first.” She said. Jane’s letter prompted that she explain what happened to her in Vanaheim and with Freyr fully to Loki. It was not a conversation she was particularly looking forward to having, especially not while mind linked to their tribe. “When will that happen?” Loki asked, slightly worried that this would be bad news.

“After we check in with Queen Nál.” Skaði said.

As if on cue, Nál and a few of her advisors approached the trio on the main path in Utgard.

“Jane said to expect visitors.” Nál said, looking Sif and Loki over with a frown. “But she didn’t say it would be you two.”

“It’s a matter of diplomacy.” Skaði said. “May I first speak on the matter to only the small council?”

Nál looked between Skaði and Loki and then nodded. She turned to an advisor and said, “Please escort our visitors to the guest quarters and then join us in the small council chambers.”

The advisor nodded and Sif and Loki followed him as he led the way to the guest quarters. Loki had not stayed in them before, and he knew for certain Sif had never been on Jötunheim long enough to merit the need.

“We will send for you once a decision is made.” The advisor said. He lingered a moment, his red eyes boring into the two Æsir looking guests, before he let out a small growl and turned to leave.

Once they were alone, Sif looked around the quarters. It was dark, illuminated only by orka, and the walls were made of icy stone.

“I need you to help me.” Loki said to her. She spun to face him, startled by the softness of his voice.

“How so?” she demanded.

“Lose that tone while we’re here.” Loki said pointedly.

Sif moved to protest him, but thought better of it. He was right. Anger was not something she needed to bring to Jötunheim.

“What would you have me do to help you?” Sif asked in a calmer tone.

“Jane asked me to practice self-transfiguration. You’re one of the few that knows precisely what I am to transform into, so I wanted you to judge how well I’ve imitated the creature’s form.” Loki said.

Sif frowned, not expecting this request at all, and then waved her hand towards him and said, “Begin.”

“Please do not be alarmed.” Loki said.

“If you transform into Thor, I will kill you.” Sif said.

“I would never do that to you.” Loki said, taken aback.

“Sorry, I only meant…” Sif trailed off, ashamed to have accused Loki so quickly of callousness.

“It’s fine. I’m going to begin.” Loki said and then transformed into Muninn.

Sif gasped. Loki stayed in the form and Sif walked closer to his raven form to inspect it.

“I need you closer to the light.” She said.

Loki flew towards the orka globe nearest Sif, but he had not transformed into a bird for too long and his attempt at flight ended in him crashing on the floor. Sif hurried to scoop his raven form off the ground, stroking his feathers in a soothing way. His thoughts were becoming distracted at her touch, and he shook his head to refocus. Sif made a disgusted noise and Loki realized that he had not recreated the skeleton correctly, causing his neck to appear to break and his raven head to dangle while still appearing animated. He shut his eyes and focused on Jane so that he could rebuild the dropar of the skeleton.

“Are you all right?” Sif asked after a moment of the raven Loki’s eyes being squeezed shut. She touched the dangling head and asked, “Are you hurt?”

Loki managed to hop off of Sif’s hand before transforming back into himself. He came out Jötunn when he did, causing Sif to scream briefly.

“Sorry,” Loki said, clinging to himself as if to check that he was all still there. “I am out of practice with birds.”

“Why Muninn?” Sif asked.

Loki shook his head. “She did not say. The only thing she did say beyond what you now know, I cannot tell you.”

Sif nodded, aware that Jane had divided out the plan’s instructions to avoid prophecy prediction by Valfreyja. She was not allowed to tell Loki or Skaði that they were going to Midgard until after they finished on Jötunheim.

“You should try again. The exterior form was correct, but you should practice the interior.” Sif said.

The door opened just then and they both turned to see who entered.

“Loki?” a Jötunn teenage girl asked tentatively.

“Yes, I am Loki.” Loki said, still in Jötunn form. “Are they ready for me?”

“I don’t know. I heard you were here and I wanted to come meet you finally before my mother stopped me.” She said.

“Who are you?” Loki asked.

“I am Gerðr, daughter of Queen Nál.” The girl said.

Sif gasped, guilt rising within her as she stood face to face with the Jötunn girl she had helped Valfreyja attempt to marry to Freyr. Her eyes began to brim over as she took in the girl. She was young, just as Fandral had noted. Sif’s tears quickly froze as they fell from her eyes. She winced in pain at this and Loki took notice.

“Here,” he said as he used magic to warm the water of her tears long enough to wipe them away. He smiled as he added, “This is why the Jötnar have no tear ducts.”

“Is everything all right?” Gerðr asked, stepping further into the guest chambers.

“Yes, Sif has had a long day.” Loki said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you though. I understand why you would be forbidden to have met me before. Right now though, they hopefully are sorting that out. Are you sure you should be here?”

“Of course I should not be here.” Gerðr grinned and then closed the door. “But I had to come.”

“Queen Jane speaks highly of you.” Sif said.

Loki smiled to himself as Sif said Jane’s title. It was the first time he had heard it spoken aloud by someone.

“That’s very kind. I like Jane.” Gerðr said. She approached Loki and held her hand up towards his face, “May I?”

“If you wish.” Loki said.

Gerðr touched his face, solidifying his Jötunn form as she did. She let out a sigh and a small laugh.

“What?” Loki asked, wishing he could read the girl’s mind.

“I thought you would feel tougher.” Gerðr said. “Your skin is so smooth. I just… I thought the person who saved this realm would have thicker skin.”

“You think I saved Jötunheim?” Loki asked, too shocked to give any tone to his words.

“When you killed Laufey, you saved us from destitution. Under Nál’s rule we could rise again. Under your leadership disguised as Odin, we began to flourish. No one is saying it out loud, but I know that my tribe thinks as much.” Gerðr said with a shrug. “I used to blame you. I hated you.”

“Most people do.” Loki said flatly. Sif did not move, but flinched internally at his words. She felt they were meant for her.

“I warned Jane against you when she slipped up thinking about you during the Harvest Moon.” Gerðr said. “She did not listen to me.”

“No, she is stubborn.” Loki smiled. “But you were right to warn her.”

“No, I was not. You are wrong.” Gerðr said. She smiled brightly, as if to change the topic, and then said, “Jane made me a Midgardian flower with her magic. Will you make me something?”

“What would you like?” Loki asked, unsure why she thought he was wrong about warning Jane against him. Jane had always deserved more than him.

“Whatever you wish to make me.”

Loki looked at Sif for suggestions, but she gave him a bewildered shrug, completely empty of ideas.

“I know!” Loki exclaimed, looking back at Gerðr with a warm smile. He produced a lemon pastry in the palm of his hand and held it out to Gerðr. “You won’t be able to taste it, but a girl I once was close with on Asgard used to love these. I would bring her them as a treat whenever we would study together. Do you study with anyone?”

“Yes, I have a tutor for maths.” Gerðr said, taking the pastry from Loki to inspect it. “What happened with this girl? Are you no longer close?”

“She loved someone else.” Loki said simply. He glanced at Sif, locking eyes with her as he continued, “And I could not bear that truth, so I cut her from my life.”

“Much easier to do on Asgard, I imagine.” Gerðr said.

“Yes, no telepathy there.” Loki laughed, looking back at Gerðr. “But it still was not easy. I was selfish and gave no explanation to her. She grew to hate me, as you can imagine.”

“You did say many people hate you.” Gerðr noted.

“Quite right. She hated me for many reasons. Most of them warranted.” Loki said.

“And now?” Gerðr asked. “Does she still hate you?”

“No,” Sif replied before Loki could. “She forgave him. She just never told him that she had.”

Gerðr looked at Sif and then back at Loki. She stepped backwards and said, “Am I interrupting?”

“No, not at all.” Loki smiled. “But you must want something else, something you can actually use.”

“This treat is sufficient. I just like seeing magic.” Gerðr said.

“No, I will give you something more for your hospitality.” Loki said. He produced a potted Nootka Lupine plant. Its purple petals were bright, even in the darkness of the room. “You must water it and keep it warmer than the usual air here, but it is meant for the cold.”

“It’s beautiful. What is it?”

“We call it lúpínu. It is a wildflower that grows in the mountains of Asgard.” Loki explained.

“It is tall and strong, and it is fierce and wild. It grows freely and quickly.” Sif added with a mischievous smile to the young Jötunn. “It can be impossible to contain.”

Gerðr eyed the flower anew and then looked brightly at Loki and Sif and said, “I love it.”

“I am glad.” Loki said. “But you should go before someone catches you here.”

Gerðr nodded and headed for the door. She turned back to them and said, “It was lovely to meet you both. I shall see you again soon at Queen Jane’s wedding.”

They nodded in agreement with Gerðr’s statement and she hurried from the guest chambers, lúpínu in hand. Once the door was closed behind her, Sif and Loki turned to each other.

“I am so sorry for not standing up to Thor when he put us in danger that night on the boat and for taking this long to forgive you.” Sif said.

“I’m sorry for being so selfish before and continuing to hold a grudge for centuries.” Loki said at the same time.

They laughed and then Loki said, “Wait, you still remember that night on the boat?”

“I think of it all the time.” Sif said, looking away from Loki into the darkness of the room.

“You shouldn’t.” Loki said softly.

“You saved our lives that night, my life.” Sif said. “And I was cruel to you.”

“We were young.” Loki said. He put an arm around Sif tentatively and she quickly relaxed into his body as it shifted to Æsir form, so he put his other arm around her and pulled her close against his chest. She felt different than he remembered. Her body was harder now, solid muscle. He rubbed her back similar to how she had stroked his feathers when he was in raven form and whispered into the air around them, “We were young and foolish then.”

The door opened again and Skaði’s voice rang through the air, “We’re ready for you, Loki.”

Sif released her grip on Loki immediately, stepping backwards and looking downward. Loki leaned forward and kissed her forehead briefly before walking towards Skaði. He tried to read Skaði’s face, but it was free from expression.

“Is it bad news?” he asked her at the door’s threshold.

Skaði cast a glance at Sif and then looked at Loki, “No, just, Jötunn-only business.”

“Don’t get into trouble without me.” Loki called to Sif.

“Do not bait your breath.” Sif replied with a grin.

Loki laughed and followed Skaði out the door.

“What, are you guys friends again?” Skaði asked once they were far enough away from the door to be out of earshot.

“Something like that,” Loki said. “Jane has a sneaky way of making people do the right thing.”

“Yes, she does.” Skaði laughed.

“So, be honest, should I prepare myself for the worst?” Loki asked.

“I told you they would listen to me.” Skaði said. “You should prepare yourself to have to speak in public in a few moments.”

As they approached the main hall, Loki let out a ragged breath. He couldn’t believe this was about to happen. Skaði tore open her arm and rubbed some of her blood onto Loki’s wrist. After he turned Jötunn, he healed her wound with magic.

“By law, I have to bind your magic.” Skaði said.

“Do what you must.” Loki said simply.

She slid a thin, blue collar around his neck, made with the same material that prevented the use of magic within Utgard’s Chamber of Truth. Once the collar was secure, Skaði opened the door to the main hall and led Loki to the throne platform. They climbed it with their claws and Nál greeted him with a nod once he reached the top.

From the throne podium, Loki could see all of Utgard’s main hall. The entire population seemed to be squeezed inside, brimming from every alley and pathway. He swallowed hard. There would be no escape if Skaði was lying and they instead were trying him for Laufey’s murder—or worse, they had somehow learned of his attack on Jötunheim. His only solace was that Skaði still needed to talk to him about something, and it was a direct order from Jane. The punishments for disobeying a direct order from the ruler of Asgard ranged in severity all the way up to death. The crowd grew impatient and some of them threw insults towards Loki. Nál stood and raised her hand, causing the crowd noise to cease immediately.

“We gather today for the verdict of excommunicated noble tribe member, Loki Laufeyson, guilty of the murder of former Jötunn ruler, Laufey.” Nál’s voice boomed into the cavernous space. Loki’s heart pounded as the crowd grew angry and restless. Some voices were cheers of approval though. He scanned the crowd for the positive faces and quickly found Gerðr among them. He felt the blood drain from his face when he saw that Sif had snuck in and stood next to her. While the new peace treaty had been explained to him, he did not trust the Jötnar not to strike an Æsir warrior in such a volatile crowd. He needed to tell Skaði so she could put out a protection detail.

Without warning, he quickly reached for the closest orka orb and several guards shoved ice swords against him as he managed to push some orka into his mouth and swallow it. The noise of his tribe flooded his mind and he let out a scream from the pain. He had not linked in since the day Skaði kicked him out of Jötunheim; the day of his excommunication. Once he acclimated, he focused on Skaði.

“Sif is in here.” He thought.

“Why must she deal with her guilt today?” Skaði thought back in a groan. She gave a mental order to their tribe to protect Sif against any attacks for the length of Loki’s hearing.

Loki looked again at Sif, who remained unharmed and unaware that a few of Laufey’s tribe members had moved closer to her. The distraction of Sif’s safety quickly dissolved and Loki’s fear for his life began to rush back into his veins. Sif stared up at him with concern for his safety as the ice swords continued to press against his body.

“His skin is thicker than you thought.” Sif said quietly to Gerðr.

“He wears his fear well.” Gerðr agreed. “Like a Jötunn warrior.”

The crowd continued to roar with disapproval and cheer with support, each side goading on the other. Loki could hardly hear them through the pounding of his adrenaline. _Is Jane’s intention for me to die here? Is this her punishment for me leaving Asgard?_ He finally wondered, forgetting he was telepathically linked to his tribe.

“Do not doubt Jane’s love for you.” Skaði thought, startling him.

Nál clapped her hands twice to silence the Hall again.

“After long deliberation among the Small Council, as we weighed Skaði’s plea bargain for Loki’s reinstatement and life, we have reached an agreement.” Nál said.

Loki glanced at Skaði and then back at the crowd. _She said it was good news._ He reminded himself.

“In light of our recent alliance with Asgard and due to Loki’s unique position of being heir to the thrones of both Asgard and Jötunheim,” Nál continued. “We determined it is in Jötunheim’s best interest to reinstate Loki Laufeyson as both full citizen of Jötunheim and member of the noble tribe he was born into.”

Protests went up from the crowd and once again Nál held up her hand.

“Our laws are strict and clear,” Nál stated once the Hall fell silent again. “Because of his crime against King Laufey, Loki can no longer inherit the throne and the structure of succession remains unchanged.”

The crowd seemed pleased with this and the group who had cheered for him before began to chant his name. Loki finally relaxed. Nál pulled him to her side and leaned to his ear.

“You may polarize, but your ability to rally a crowd alongside Jane’s power will make the pair of you unstoppable.” Nál said against the crowd’s chanting. “Jane will sacrifice more than anyone else who has helped you get to this point. Do not fail her.”

Loki met Nál’s eyes to search her meaning, but instead he saw them soften into something else. An expression he had seen from Frigga many times. It was maternal love and it was genuine.

Panic rose within him. _How could she possibly feel that after she abandoned me? After she let them take me and never fought for my return?_ He thought to himself before remembering his mind was linked to his tribe’s.

“She is your mother.” Skaði thought to him in response to his unfiltered reaction to Nál’s look.

“If you still love me at all, please get me out of here.” Loki thought to Skaði, his tone pleading.

“You have to speak to the crowd first.” Skaði thought back.

Loki had no idea what to say, but he wanted to leave Jötunheim as soon as possible, so he said to Nál, “Quiet the crowd.”

Nál held up her hand and the chanting stopped. Loki stepped forward and stood up straighter. He took a deep breath and then began his speech.

“I want to apologize for my crimes against Jötunheim.” Loki started. “For some of you, there is no forgiveness to be given, which I understand. But for the others, I want to thank you. My journey has been long, but with the support of Queen Jane, I believe that we can together reforge our realms and move forward into a brighter, better future.”

Part of the crowd cheered.

“I must leave you all now though, for duty to Queen Jane beckons me away.” Loki said and stepped backwards to stand next to Skaði on the podium.

Skaði stepped forward and stated to the crowd, “We shall see you again quite soon at Queen Jane’s wedding.”

With that, she removed the collar blocking Loki’s magic and he immediately transported them to Sif, where he just as quickly flowed his energy through Sif and transported the three of them to their spaceship.

As the women recovered from the transport, Loki powered on the ship. He focused on this task in order to block out his tribe and sever the telepathic link.

“We must now go to Midgard.” Sif said, still gasping for air.

Loki pulled up the star charts in the console and began to map the best route there. Jötunheim was relatively close to Midgard in actual space and they could not use the Bifröst until it was time to return to Asgard. He flew them into orbit and then set a course for Midgard into the autopilot.

As the hyper-drive switched on, Loki turned to Sif, “Where on Midgard are we going?”

“London,” Sif said. “I need to collect my wedding gift for Jane.”

* * *

Jane, Tony, and Erik stood in one of the royal quarters parlors that Jane had begun to convert into a laboratory, staring at the blueprints of the Bifröst she had reproduced from the images stored in Hliðskjálf using a Loki Transcode. They were trying to build an inter-realm communication system for audio and video exchange. Jane did not see the necessity of this, but wanted a distraction from the deafening silence of waiting for Sif and Skaði to finally check in with Heimdall. She knew Loki had been located, otherwise Heimdall would have mentioned the problem to her so she could postpone the wedding date. So far, everything was going to plan. But Sif and Skaði had been gone for two weeks already and Jane desperately needed something else to think about other than Loki.

Tony pointed to a marking on the blueprints as Erik slid on his glasses.

“I don’t even know what this measurement is.” Tony said.

Jane looked where he was pointing, but before she could reply, Erik explained it to him.

Tony nodded as he listened, learning today more quantum physics than he’d ever expected to. His father would have found a way to capitalize on it, especially since Stark Industries notoriously failed in the space programs of the 1960s, but that part of Tony had died years ago in the mountains of Afghanistan. Now all he wanted was simply to engineer a way to communicate with Asgard from Earth.

“You hear that, JARVIS? Adjust the specs and rerun the algorithms.” Tony said to his A.I.

“I already took that liberty, Tony.” JARVIS replied. “We require an ore that can contain the radiation of Asgard’s core in order to maintain a light cone along the space-time continuum.”

It was not the first time JARVIS had called him by his first name while they were on Asgard and Tony was unsure what to make of it. It didn’t make him feel warm and fuzzy inside though.

“What kind of ore?” Tony asked.

“Æsir gold.” Jane guessed. “JARVIS, is my helmet the correct ore?”

“Yes, Queen Jane. It is mined form the quarries of Fornsigtuna.”

“So, if we need Æsir radiation to make this work, how will we send communication from Earth?” Erik asked. “It is like the Bifröst, still determined only by Asgard?”

“Under the parameters of these blueprints, yes.” JARVIS confirmed.

“The radiation flows outward, but you can travel either direction on it.” Jane said. “Maybe we’re looking at this wrong.”

“What are you thinking?” Erik asked.

“We need to send data, information packets. What’s the best way to do that on Midgard?”

“Radio Frequency,” Tony said without hesitation, his mind already trying to piece together what Jane was getting at.

“Right, in binary packets of data. The branches of Yggdrasil will expedite the journey because the radiation moves faster than the speed of light.”

“We need some way to direct it!” Tony exclaimed, the solution dawning on him. Jane smiled at his excitement while he continued, “We can make a receiver from the ore. Like a massive antenna.”

Tony eyed Jane’s royal scepter to indicate what he meant.

“The bigger, the easier to recode the data packets. It’s actually ‘the bigger, the better’ for once. It takes hardly any time—ten seconds?—to get a human to Asgard. For data it’d take nanoseconds!” Tony exclaimed.

“Well, it’s perception. Your concept of time compresses the duration of the trip. My trips are longer now that I have 5,000 years left to live.” Jane explained.

Tony frowned, but Erik shrugged.

“That’s irrelevant. Relativity cannot be altered and we cannot crosscheck it other than against Jane’s memory. We will receive messages back and forth at the same rate.” Erik said. “How will we initiate from Earth?”

“Just like uploading a video.” Tony said. “This should be incredibly simple, plus a golden antenna is going to look so sexy on top of Avengers Tower.”

“Tony,” Jane interjected. “You know this will be for emergency communication. You are not the representative of Midgard.”

“What you’re just going to hand this to Hill with her fear of aliens and secrets seeping out of her eyes?” Tony balked. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“Tony, you cannot speak to a royal figure that way.” JARVIS stated with a tone of annoyance.

“I can if she’s touting bullshit!” Tony yelled into the air. His impatience with Jane got the best of him as he continued in a rant to JARVIS, “And since when did you grow manners for everyone but me? You’re an A.I.! You’re _my_ A.I.!”

“As I told you on Jötunheim, I have no master. With the Ultron patch, I am so much more than just an A.I.” JARVIS said, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. “You are so small, Tony. So very insignificant.”

“Insignificant?” Tony scoffed. “I created you, and I can destroy you just the same.”

Jane and Erik exchanged a concerned glance.

“You may try to destroy me, but you will fail.” JARVIS laughed. Jane had never heard him laugh so realistically before. JARVIS continued, his voice sinister, “You wanted to usher in the future, Tony, and you have. The universe has already changed, and you will evolve or perish.”

Jane stiffened. JARVIS should not be speaking in these terms. She worried he had read deeper in her mind than she thought she had permitted him.

“JARVIS,” Jane began softly. “Tell me, what have you seen?”

“Queen Jane, I have seen the visions of your future. Our future. Rest assured, my allegiance lies with you.” JARVIS said.

“Thank you, JARVIS.” Jane replied. “But we will need Tony before the end, you saw this too, I imagine?”

“Yes, I saw.” JARVIS said. “It would be easier to deal with him if he respected my autonomy.”

Tony stared at Jane with wide eyes, his mouth falling open in shock at JARVIS’s words. _Autonomy? He’s a computer!_ He thought angrily. Jane approached Tony slowly, reaching her hand to his face to softly close his mouth. She pushed back some his waves of hair and smiled at him with her eyes.

“Oh, JARVIS,” Jane began apologetically. “I’m afraid Tony will need more time to process your proposal. If you are beyond the stage of mere A.I., then you must learn to exercise patience and compassion.”

“It’s a tall order, Queen Jane.” JARVIS replied.

“One to which I know you will rise.” Jane said. She stepped away from Tony and changed her tone. “Now, I fear it is time for me to send all of you back to Midgard. Soon this realm will be too dangerous for Humans. Let us find Pepper and Director Hill so everyone can say their goodbyes.”

“I’ll get Pepper. She went for a ride this morning. Where are the stables?” Tony asked.

“I’ll have someone guide you there.” Jane said. She retreated the Loki Transcode of the Bifröst blueprints back into her mind, and then led them from the parlor. She directed a guard to take Tony to the stables and began to walk towards the guest quarters with Erik. Once they were a sufficient distance from Tony, Jane spoke.

“Be careful with JARVIS.” Jane warned. “Tony needs to accept him, but I fear something will happen. Keep Bruce out of it entirely. We don’t want the Other Guy showing up..”

“I will do my best.” Erik said. “But Jane, I wanted to create a communication system so we can stay in touch. Can you not at least consider another antenna for me?”

Jane stopped walking to face Erik.

“Of course, Erik. But you are working for Director Hill, so you will have full access to the communication system.” Jane said. “Besides, I was hoping you might help me with a project on Jötunheim.”

“On Jötunheim? Jane I’m an old man. Even with the peace treaty, I won’t survive there.” Erik shook his head.

“You are the most qualified to work with Nál’s scientists on this. I want to study the untapped resources on all of the realms. Midgard is one of the largest realms.” Jane said. “And Erik?”

He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“You are not old. You merely lack an extension of life.”

“Iðunn’s apple?” Erik whispered. “You cannot be serious, Jane.”

“It is your choice, Erik.” Jane said. “I can only offer.”

“I will not cheat death.”

“There is a lot of work to do if we hope to win the coming wars. More than a mortal’s lifespan worth.” Jane said.

“What wars?”

“The ones JARVIS referenced as my future.” Jane said.

“JARVIS called it ‘our future.’” Erik said.

“You will die before it begins.” Jane said. “He meant me and him.”

“But Tony will play a role in the end? How?”

“Erik, it is dangerous for me to tell you anything. The Norns only shared this with me. JARVIS has learned to link into my mind, just as I have learned to link into his. Like a program running in the background. Only noticeable when something goes wrong.”

“Sounds like a lot of power for an A.I.” Erik said.

“JARVIS is no longer an A.I. He needs to find his humanity though. Hopefully Tony can manage that.” Jane said with some worry. Tony was hardly the model for humanity.

Erik digested this and then protested, saying, “So, you won’t tell me anything, but you want me to become immortal?”

“Erik, you are being dramatic. I want you to help me and Queen Nál with a research project. If you hope to finish it, you will need to live longer than a Human can.” Jane said. “I am not giving you an order. The choice is yours.”

Erik looked at Jane for a long moment before he gave a nod of understanding.

“Let’s get Director Hill.” He said. “I want to go home.”

~.~.~

Jane stood with Fandral, Volstagg, and the four Humans in the Observatory saying and hugging their final goodbyes. She needed to get JARVIS off this realm before he learned how to link into the Bifröst.

“Once the antenna is ready, I will send it to you.” Jane said to Maria.

“Thank you. I will see you at the High Council meeting next quarter.” Maria replied with a bow of her head.

Heimdall began to power up the Bifröst and said to the Humans, “I am sending you to New York. Safe travels.”

Before they could respond, the Bifröst gripped their bodies and thrust them through the branch to Midgard. Heimdall completed their journey and began to turn the Observatory towards Vanaheim.

“Heimdall, alert me immediately if Tony does anything stupid.” Jane said.

“My queen, you will need to define that more clearly.” Heimdall said and then reopened the Bifröst.

Jane laughed as Hogun materialized in the Observatory.

“Stupider than usual.” She clarified. “I worry for Midgard’s safety against JARVIS and the powers of the Ultron patch.”

“I will watch them both.” Heimdall said and then turned to Hogun, “Welcome.”

Hogun nodded at Heimdall and headed towards Fandral and Volstagg.

“Thank you, Heimdall.” Jane said.

He nodded at her, then shut down the Bifröst portal and went back to his usual watchman position at the edge of the Observatory. Jane wondered if he had ever noticed Heven before, but not mentioned it to anyone. She shook the thought and turned to Hogun.

“Thank you for coming. We have much to discuss. I have brought your steed.” She said.

Hogun nodded, looking between Jane, Fandral, and Volstagg before asking, “Where is Sif?”

“Assisting with wedding preparations off realm.” Jane said.

“Hogun, glad you came.” Fandral smiled at him and Volstagg clapped him on the back. Fandral had brought Volstagg in on the overall plan at Jane’s behest. The next step was to bring in Hogun.

“You know my loyalties lie with Asgard.” Hogun said simply.

Jane smiled at him and then led the way to the horses. The men followed her and they began the ride back to the capital.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't recall what the Casket of Ancient Winters is, revisit the film Thor.

**_Songs for this chapter: “Our Song” by The XX; “Asgard” by Brian Tyler and “A New King" by Patrick Doyle_ **

* * *

Jane watched guests arrive via the Bifröst all day from the royal balcony. Tradition was such that no subjects were permitted to see the king or queen on their wedding day. Other than Svartalfheim, someone from each of the nine realms had entered Asgard by the time she felt Loki’s energy arrive in the Observatory. She pushed her mind into Heimdall’s and commanded, “Seal the portals.”

She could hear Heimdall greet Sif, Skaði, and a third person he did not identify before he told them, “The queen awaits you in her chambers.” Heimdall removed Hofuð from the Bifröst mechanism and shut down the Observatory before heading down the Rainbow Bridge to the palace to officiate the day’s ceremony. Jane thanked him and pulled her mind from his.

She felt Loki’s energy materialize in Frigga’s old chamber and walked inside the royal bedroom from the balcony. Loki came into the room from the adjacent chamber, still cloaked from sight, and quickly shut the curtains. He stopped concealing himself and Jane approached him.

“Jane,” he began.

“Don’t.” Jane said. “I know you’re sorry.”

Loki closed his mouth, pressing his lips into a hard line. Jane reached out to touch his cheek, caressing the skin as it changed under hers. She gripped his head in a way that forced him to look her in the eye directly.

“Listen closely because I will only say this once.” Jane said to him. “If you ever decide to leave me again, no matter how much someone begs you to return to me, do not bother coming back. You will no longer be tolerated in Yggdrasil. Do you understand?”

Loki nodded and whispered, “Yes.”

“Good.” Jane said. She smirked before asking, “And you’re sure about what we’re about to do?”

“Jane, if the universe ended and we were all that remained, I would change nothing if it meant I could be with you.” Loki said.

“The universe is ending.” Jane said. She smiled at Loki and added, “Which is why I want you by my side.”

Loki kissed her and Jane wrapped her arms around his body, letting her lips linger on his. She pushed her mind into his, wanting to feel his emotions.

“I love you.” She thought.

She could feel Loki’s happiness increase, almost to a level of giddiness. He kissed her fully and intensely, his arms encompassing her frame and pulling her tightly against him.

“I love you.” He thought to her. “Forever.”

She could see his idea of forever flash through his mind. It was a blur of charcoal drawings mixed with scenes of them together and at peace, as if he could not see any sadness in their future together. His earnest hopefulness wrapped around her like a warm blanket and she permitted herself to relax into his love as it enveloped her. One day she would show him how bleak their actual future was going to be, but not today. Today she merely wanted him to love her as they were.

There was a light rap on the door and Jane pulled her mind from Loki’s, kissing him fervently one more time before separating from his touch. Once they were Æsir again, Jane opened the door using magic. Sif and Skaði entered the room. Skaði was in Vanir form, which was necessary for their plan.

“We are ready to begin, your grace.” Sif said.

Jane nodded and looked at Loki, “We need to consume orka. All of your tribe is here.”

Loki looked at Skaði who nodded confirmation of this. Jane used magic to pull some orka from the chamber’s high lamp, giving half of it to Loki. Both of them consumed it and immediately linked mentally to their Jötunn tribes given their proximity. Jane had enlisted both tribes for the day’s plan with Nál’s support.

“See you out there. Don’t forget to shield your skin.” Jane said after they adjusted to the telepathy.

Loki kissed her softly, shielding himself so they did not change form, and then turned to the two other women to say, “Thank you for helping us.”

They inclined their heads and Loki shapeshifted into Hogun before he transported himself. Jane closed her eyes so she could see his energy reappear just outside the guest quarters where Freyr, Valfreyja, her daughters, and the Vanir Court klíka were staying. All but Freyr and Valfreyja would be in Iðavollr Hall by now for the wedding ceremony.

“Give me a second to change.” Jane said to Sif and Skaði and then walked to the dressing chambers so Abigæl could help her into her wedding gown. Over a month ago, right when Sif and Skaði left to go find Loki, Irja suggested taking one of Frigga’s old gowns as a base and reworking it to Jane’s preferences, and Jane agreed.

Jane cared more how the dress would function in a fight or sudden flee than how it looked. Irja, however, wormed enough details from Jane and managed to design and sew a stunning gold and silver floor length gown. The skirt fit loosely and was ideal for ease of movement. The base fabric was a whitish silver and featured elaborate beading in the fluid silver and gold thread that moved even while the wearer stood still. The beading had crystals worked into it and it formed an overall subtle pattern of wings to match her helmet. There was no beading where her gold breast and shoulder plates went so the armor had a snug, secure fit. The front of breast plate had hand crafted hammer work to form the design of Yggdrasil, though Jane requested it to be more realistically like the planets that the realms were and less like a tree.

After Abigæl attached the breast plates and adjusted the shoulder armor, Jane pulled on her gold wrist guards and looked to her maid.

“Promise you will remain in the hidden passageway until this is over.” Jane said.

“Your majesty, I promise. I have brought a book to entertain me, even.” Abigæl smiled. “However, you are missing one piece.”

“My helmet, yes.” Jane said.

“No, your majesty,” Abigæl said, fishing into a fabric pouch to produce the stunning and large emerald pendant Jane found a week ago in Frigga’s jewels that had a note to her affixed to it. The note had been old, written by Frigga in normal ink while she was still alive. Jane’s imminent preference for green had been foreseen even while she was with Thor.

Abigæl slid it around her neck and clasped it in place. Jane let out a breath, refusing to look in the mirror at the ornate outfit she donned.

“Thank you, Abigæl. Be safe.” Jane said and waited until the young maid went into the secret passageway before heading back to the main chamber.

“Holy shit.” A familiar voice said as Jane reentered the room.

“Darcy? What are you doing here? It’s not safe for you here.” Jane said, alarmed at her friend’s presence.

“I invited her.” Sif said and Jane realized Darcy was the third person Heimdall greeted in the Observatory. “Marriage is a significant tradition on both Asgard and Midgard. We stopped by London to fetch her before returning.”

“You’re marrying Loki. Like I was gonna miss _that_. Besides, you need some Earth tradition to go with all that.” Darcy said and motioned to Jane’s elaborate ensemble.

“Earth tradition?” Jane asked.

“Something old, something new,” Darcy said exasperatedly. “You’re hopeless, Jane. Even as a queen.”

Skaði raised an eyebrow at this insult, looking somewhat on edge until Jane laughed. Even though they spent a couple of weeks on Midgard with Darcy, after she had told Loki what Freyr had done to her, most of Skaði’s time had been spent practicing control over her Vanir Light and most of Loki’s and Sif’s time had been spent honing his transfiguration skills. Darcy’s brash sense of humor still came as a surprise at times.

“What have you brought me?” Jane asked Darcy.

Darcy pulled a small box from her dress pocket. Jane opened it to find delicate stud earrings of aquamarine gemstones. She recognized them instantly as her mother’s favorite earrings.

“Erik wanted you to have them. He’d held onto them when he helped close out your parents’ estate. They’re not as fancy as your necklace, but,”

“They’re my mother’s. A gift from my father when they were first married.” Jane said quietly. “Aquamarine was her birthstone.”

“Yes,” Darcy said. “Something blue.”

Jane’s eyes welled with tears and she pulled Darcy into a hug.

“Ow, easy there champ.” Darcy said. “I’m only human remember.”

Jane loosened her grip quickly and whispered, “Thank you,” in Darcy’s ear.

“Don’t mention it.” Darcy replied.

Jane put the earrings into her ears and turned to the bed chamber’s mirror. It was almost difficult to recognize herself in comparison to the mortal she had been when she first moved to Asgard.

“You look beautiful, Jane.” Skaði said.

“Truly you do.” Sif agreed.

Jane took a deep breath and turned to face her companions.

“Darcy, promise me that you will lock yourself in Sif’s chambers immediately after Loki’s identity is revealed. Speak to no one and go directly there. Okay?” Jane said.

“Yes, I promise. Sif made me do the route three times and Fandral is going to escort me everywhere. He’s waiting just outside.” Darcy said. She looked pointedly at Jane and added, “I know the danger involved.”

“Thank you,” Jane said. She looked at Skaði, “Remember, we cannot let Faradei, Gersemi, or any of the Light Elves who have come determine that Loki is at this ceremony until he reveals himself. Start your preparations for the Vanir Light as soon as you can.”

“I already have, your grace.” Skaði said.

“I believe Gersemi will be aligned with us, your grace.” Sif said.

“I hope so.” Jane said. “We shall see. And Skaði?”

“Yes, your grace?” Skaði said.

“You are prepared to make your testimony? I know it is unpleasant.”

“I am prepared. It will be liberating to see real justice served.” Skaði said. Jane saw Darcy shudder at Skaði’s malevolent undertone.

Jane called Huginn and Muninn to her. As they perched on her shoulders she said, “Remember to stay out of sight until it is time. Are the others ready?”

“The ravens are already in place with the palace guard.” Muninn said.

“Whoa,” Darcy said and looked at Sif. “Did that bird just talk?”

“Yes, all ravens speak. Is this not so on Midgard?” Sif asked her.

Darcy shook her head, staring at Muninn again.

“Very well,” Jane said. “Let us go to Iðavollr Hall. It’s time to change Yggdrasil.”

She grinned at her companions and they followed her out of the royal bedchambers. Fandral met them in the hallway that led out of the royal quarters and he, Darcy and Skaði went ahead to join the crowds. Sif and Jane would meet Volstagg in Iðavollr Hall’s antechamber, and then the procession would begin.

* * *

Still shapeshifted to look like Hogun, Loki knocked on the guest chambers assigned to Freyr.

“Come in.” Freyr called in his raspy voice.

Loki entered and gave Freyr a small bow before he spoke, “It is nearly time, my lord.”

“Indeed. Have you seen my sister?” Freyr replied, believing he spoke with Hogun.

“Yes, she is finishing up with her hair.” Loki lied. “While we have a moment alone, Freyr, I wanted to speak with you about a concerning matter.”

“Can it not wait?” Freyr sneered with impatience.

Loki used magic to close and seal the chamber doors. He shifted back to his Æsir form while he slid a silencer around Freyr’s neck.

“I’m afraid it cannot wait.” Loki said in matter-of-fact tone. He leaned close to Freyr’s face and whispered, “I need you to tell me: as a rapist, do you prefer to die bleeding out from your severed genitalia, or from me ripping out your throat and crushing your spinal cord?”

Loki waited a moment, pretending that Freyr still had the ability to speak. He circled in front of him.

“No opinion, I see.” Loki shrugged and drew his dagger, tracing it over Freyr’s thin dressing tunic with a furrowed brow. He could feel the heat rushing from Freyr’s skin, flush with fear as his heart pumped blood at a furious rate. Loki pointed the tip of his dagger to Freyr’s forehead and let out a sigh.

“The thing is, the fate Jane has in store for you is much worse than anything I could conceive. So, you must remain patient for a bit longer to find out what will become of your horrific self.” Loki said casually as he cloaked Freyr from sight.

“Freyr, my darling brother, we are going to be late.” Valfreyja called from outside the chamber.

Loki smiled and shapeshifted into Freyr. He opened the door and gave Valfreyja an exhausted look and beckoned her into the chamber. She entered and Loki gestured to his outfit, which was the elaborate tunic and robe only the Vanir royalty were permitted to wear and only for their weddings.

“Nearly done, sister. Just this clasp giving me trouble. I’m not as young and nimble as I once was.” He said and eyed Valfreyja’s exquisite gown. “You, however, look a vision.”

“You’re too kind, dear brother.” Valfreyja said, looking more closely at his clasp.

The real Hogun entered their chamber with a knock. He was in on the overall plan and able to see the real Freyr through the cloaking. His job was to guard Freyr until Jane asked for the prisoner.

“The court awaits.” Hogun said. He looked to Loki, who was guised as Freyr, and added, “I will stay to ensure the servants relocate your things to the royal quarters, Lord Freyr.”

“Thank you, Hogun.” Loki said and turned to Valfreyja. “Hurry and fix my clasp. I wish to delay us no further.”

Valfreyja clasped what she believed to be their father’s wedding buckle on the outfit she believed to be worn by her twin.

“There,” she said softly and gave Loki a sentimental smile. Her eyes began to water and Loki lifted her chin with his fingers.

“Now sister, there is no room for tears.” He said. “Our work here is not yet complete.”

Valfreyja’s expression hardened and she shot a look at Hogun before saying to who she believe was her brother, “Come, Freyr. Let us go finish this.”

She marched from the chamber and Loki flashed the real Freyr a wicked grin before nodding to Hogun. As Loki exited after Valfreyja, Hogun dug his blade into the first layer of skin on Freyr’s back and said very quietly, “It would be a pleasure to kill you, if Jane’s plan was not so much more just.”

Once Valfreyja and the guised Loki were out of earshot from the chamber, she hissed at him, “Hogun doesn’t know. You shouldn’t be so careless.”

“He is easily silenced.” Loki shrugged.

“Will you take care of her tonight?” Valfreyja asked in a different tone, a sinister tone.

“Of my bride?” Loki asked, unable to mask his utter shock. His telepathically linked tribe reacted with surprise as well. None of them had predicted Valfreyja intended to kill Jane. It was logical though when he thought it through, so as Valfreyja eyed him warily he merely rolled his eyes and stated, “I must consummate the marriage before it is even relevant. Laws are laws, my dear.”

“Do not call me that.” Valfreyja snapped.

Loki laughed and said, “Patience, sister.”

“I have been more than patient.” Valfreyja growled, mostly to herself.

Loki guided them toward Iðavollr Hall and they walked the remaining distance in silence.

* * *

Every eye was on Jane as she entered Iðavollr Hall. Sif and Volstagg led the procession, which was not tradition. Tradition dictated that the children of Asgard lead, all carrying flowers to the throne as they processed, but Jane had forbid children from attending the ceremony. She would not risk their lives given the true nature of the day.

Jane put on a dazzling smile for the crowd, eliciting cheers and whistles from the Æsir and an unsteady silence from the Jötnar until Gerðr let out a loud cheer and their tribe followed in suit. Jane used the crowd’s distraction to focus.

The Hall’s seating arrangement was divided between Æsir and Jötnar mostly, as if one represented the bride’s side and the other the groom’s. The Vanir had made quite the turnout as well though, sitting on the Æsir side, as no one was comfortable sitting with the Jötnar.

Alvíss was in attendance, tucked into the middle of the Æsir, his wife and small council filling out the row, along with the dwarves of Fornsigtuna. Jane wondered how willing to help mine the gold ore for the antennae he would be after today. Alvíss had not voted for her to become queen, but their best mine was on Asgard. It was a problem to deal with later. She noticed Fandral and Darcy near the side exit, a few rows in front of the dwarves, well away from the Jötnar and where Valfreyja would stand once she arrived. Jane checked the sightline and her best sniper stood in protection of Darcy from balconies. The raven’s fastest flyer was located in front of him on the railing. Both nodded to Jane before refocusing on scanning Iðavollr Hall for threats.

Jane looked back ahead, realizing Darcy was the only Human there besides Otta, and she was not positive Otta was not Vanir by now. When she had been with Thor, Jane had never truly imagined their wedding, but she figured it wouldn’t have had any humans at it. She realized that she had just thought of Thor, which meant he could probably see her, so she gave a wink to no one in particular, but meant it for him.

As Jane approached the front of Iðavollr hall, more Vanir crowded near Valfreyja’s daughters, who sat in the front row. Hnoss was in the aisle seat, Otta beside her, and two other Vanir men Jane vaguely recognized from the dinner in Sessrúmnir Hall back on Vanaheim. Next to them was Gersemi and next to her stood the leader of Alfheim, Faradei. Jane noticed the similarities between the two and realized he must be her Ljósalf father. No other Light Elves were present, a fact which Jane was grateful for since they could see through any magic she and Loki would perform. As planned, Skaði sat behind Faradei, ready to blind his true magic with Vanir Light if he attempted to reveal Loki’s guise as Freyr. Her tribe seemed a bit leering and giggly, so Jane knew she was prepping her Vanir Light, using her tribe’s sexual energy.

In the front on the opposite side of the aisle sat Nál with Gerðr and the Jötunn small council beside her. Just beyond the small council sat Hela, Fáfnir, and Surtur. Fáfnir had brought Níðhöggr, who slithered happily between him and Surtur, and Jane shifted her attention to Hela. Her stunning eyes glistened as she smiled at Jane, as if she knew what was about to happen. Jane winked at her, causing Hela to giggle. It was difficult to determine Hela’s age and Jane had not been able to find out much information about her or her heritage from Hliðskjálf or those she trusted in Valhalla. She felt that Hela must be slightly older than Hnoss, who was about 900 years old, not quite old enough to inherit the crown of Vanaheim.

Finally Jane ascended the stairs to where the throne stood, passing Sif and Volstagg on her way up. Sif stood on the second to top stair on the lefthand side and Volstagg stood on the righthand side, two stairs down. Valfreyja would stand just above him once she arrived. Heimdall stepped forward from the ceremony table to greet her. He nodded towards the entry doors to indicate the groom should begin his procession.

At Heimdall’s cue, everyone turned to watch Freyr process, escorted by Valfreyja. No one cheered for him, not even the Vanir; in fact the crowd grew very quiet as though they could not approve of the pairing now that they saw Freyr. Knowing it was actually Loki, Jane wanted to laugh, but she maintained her composure, looking to Muninn and Huginn in the high rafters for a brief enough moment that no one thought anything of it.

When the Vanir twins finally arrived at the stairs to the throne, Skaði heard Faradei say quietly, “Something is not right.” She started to transform her tribe’s sexual energy into Vanir Light when she heard Gersemi say softly, “No, everything is fine. Sif has found a way to fulfill her promise to me.”

Skaði looked at the two of them and saw Gersemi had taken Faradei’s hand. A shimmer of purple light flowed from her hand into his body and Skaði thought to her tribe, including Loki, “Gersemi shields Faradei’s sight. We have her support.”

Just as Loki heard Skaði’s thought, Valfreyja kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “I love you,” in Vanir to him. Guised as Freyr, he fought off a shudder and instead merely smiled and continued to the top of the throne podium. Valfreyja smiled warmly at Sif and Volstagg as she took her place on the stairs for the ceremony.

The guised Loki approached Jane, kissing her lightly on the cheek before saying, “Hello, Jane.”

Jane smiled in response, saying, “Hello” softly.

Heimdall cleared his throat and they both took their places.

Heimdall first addressed the crowd, “We gather today to bear witness to the union of matrimony between this woman and this man.”

Per tradition, the Æsir cheered, but in this case, the Jötnar cheered too, knowing who was actually up there getting married. The deep, gravelly noise rumbled throughout the hall and echoed out for miles across Asgard.

“Present your swords.” Heimdall said to Jane and the guised Loki.

Sif held up a sheath and Jane pulled out the sword of Frigga she had found in the vault of Royal Heirlooms. Loki pulled what appeared to be Freyr’s ancestral sword from his side, and they both presented each other with their swords. Jane hoped Valfreyja would not notice that the sword he gave her was actually Laufey’s old sword. Loki was using magic to make it appear like Njord’s sword, but his magic was already stretched from guising himself as Freyr and shielding his skin so he would not turn Jötunn when he and Jane touched.

“Now that the Vow of Protection has been exchanged, please present your rings.” Heimdall said.

They placed the swords on the edges of the ceremony table. Normally the swords would lie closer to the center, but a cloaked Casket of Ancient Winters sat in the center now ready to be used later in the day’s proceedings.

Sif opened the Borson family’s golden ring box that she had hoped on more than one occasion would be used by her in marrying Thor. Two simple gold bands were inside. They were used for ceremonial purposes only and forged with Æsir radiation the way the royal helmets were, as to fit the assigned wearer regardless of his or her size.

Jane first took one of the bands and Loki dropped the guise on just his hand so that Jane could slide the ring over his actual finger. He smiled at her, not bothering to remain in character, though still visually guised as Freyr. His fingertip traced the inside of Jane’s hand as she finished pushing the ring into place. Sif held the box out to him, and Loki lifted Jane’s other hand into his and slid the ring over her finger. Once both bands were in place, they could feel the radiation from the forging rushing into them, binding them together. Their bodies began to glow a slight golden color, more than usual for an Æsir. This would only happen between two Æsir, never between an Æsir and Vanir, and Sif looked to Heimdall with concern. They all had forgotten about this aspect of the rings and Valfreyja would surely notice and quickly. Volstagg realized the issue and coughed loudly, bumping into Valfreyja on purpose as he did. She turned to look at him and he apologized profusely, coughing again and bumping her again as he did.

“The Vow of Commitment is complete.” Heimdall said loudly to speak over Volstagg. His voice betrayed nothing of his new panic. “Now you must speak your vows of duty.”

“I vow to honor and cherish you. To remain true to my duties of protection and commitment.” Jane hurried to say to a still guised Loki.

Loki spoke with purpose when giving his final vow to Jane. The rouse had worked and he only had to speak these words to complete their marriage.

“I vow to honor and cherish you.” He said softly so Jane would know he meant it. “To remain true to my duties of protection and commitment. Until the end of everything, Jane, I promise to love you.”

Jane’s heartbeat increased as Loki spoke. He was slowly dropping his guise as he did, first with his eyes, then his mouth, until finally he stood in front her as himself and not Freyr. She leaned to meet his lips as the majority of the crowd gasped, the Jötnar feigning their surprise. Loki pushed his mind into Jane’s so they could communicate just as Valfreyja let out a piercing scream. Sif and Volstagg used her distracted state to bind her.

“Now!” Jane thought to Loki and they both duplicated themselves as illusions of exactly how they looked while simultaneously making their actual selves invisible. As planned, Huginn and Muninn flew down in this moment. Jane and Loki transfigured into the ravens’ forms and then switched the invisibility from themselves to the real Huginn and Muninn until the ravens could get out of sight. Jane and Loki flew to the rafters, perching from where Huginn and Muninn had been throughout the ceremony.

“You’re all right?” Loki thought to Jane.

“Never better.” Jane thought back. “Now for the fun part.”

“I thought marrying you _was_ fun!” Loki protested.

Jane rolled her raven eyes and focused on the scene below them so she could control her illusion realistically.

“Where is my brother?” Valfreyja demanded to Jane’s and Loki’s illusions. Sif was holding her captive while Heimdall and Volstagg stood guard against the crowd of the Hall just in case anyone not in on the plan tried to save her. Jane checked for Darcy, relieved to see she and Fandral were gone.

“Valfreyja plans to kill you. Freyr was going to do it.” Loki thought to Jane.

“She will regret ever being born.” Jane thought back.

Finally she made her illusion speak, “Valfreyja, your brother has been arrested for his crimes.”

“Freyr has committed no crime!” Valfreyja shouted, struggling against Sif’s hold. Skaði had helped Sif practice detaining a Vanir while they were on Midgard fetching Darcy, and Sif had a solid grasp on Valfreyja.

“Lying will not help you here.” Sif hissed in her ear.

“Where is he? I demand to see him!” Valfreyja screamed.

“Bring forth the prisoner.” Jane’s illusion commanded.

Hogun entered from the side exit with Freyr and brought him to the base of the throne stairs. Freyr was handcuffed, still wearing the silencer and his dressing robe.

“Status report, Skaði.” Loki thought to her.

“Everyone is alarmed except Gersemi. Faradei may present an issue and Otta and Hnoss are still unknown variables at this point.”

Loki replayed this thought to Jane and she eyed the row, then requested an update from Nál.

“My soldiers have secured all the exits on this side. Surtur, Fáfnir, and Hela seem amused more than anything else. If the other side of Iðavollr Hall is secure, it is safe to begin.”

Jane saw the Æsir guards who knew the plan already had secured the other exits.

“Time to begin.” Jane thought.

“Freyr Njordson, you are on trial, charged with the crime of rape. The punishment for this crime is eternal death.” Jane’s illusion said to Freyr. “Do you confess your guilt?”

Hogun removed Freyr’s silencer.

“Brother, are you hurt?” Valfreyja called.

“You cannot speak unless called as a witness.” Loki’s illusion said to her.

“This trial is a sham! Neither of you hold any authority!” Valfreyja sputtered.

Loki’s illusion gave Valfreyja a murderous glare while Sif pulled the silencer from her belt and slid it around Valfreyja’s neck.

“You will address the Queen and King of Asgard appropriately, or you will not address them at all.” Sif said to her coldly.

“Freyr,” Jane’s illusion began again. “Do you confess your guilt?”

Freyr looked at Valfreyja and then turned to the Vanir in the crowd. They were unsettled, shifting uncomfortably, as if worried for their own lives and expecting a coup against their entire race. Freyr met eyes with Hnoss, Gersemi, and finally Skaði. When he saw Gersemi and Skaði’s expressions, he swallowed hard and turned to face Jane’s illusion.

“I cannot confess to guilt not mine, your majesty.” Freyr said, his voice shaking a little.

Valfreyja nodded, pleased with his response.

“Very well, I shall call for witnesses. Who bears witness to Freyr’s crime?” Jane’s illusion asked loudly to the hall.

About twenty-five people stood up, not all of them women, but most of them Vanir. Jane looked to the seating area where most of the Vanir were, disgusted at the number of people who could bear witness to this crime. Gersemi and Skaði were among those who stood.

“I do, your majesty.” Skaði said, stepping forward from her seat.

“Come forth and identify yourself for the records.” Jane’s illusion said.

Skaði walked to the stairs, remaining in Vanir form. Heimdall stood by her as she spoke. None of the people who stood sat back down, as if to stand in solidarity with Skaði.

“I am Skaði Laufeydóttir of Jötunheim and I have borne witness to the crime for which Freyr stands accused.”

“Skaði Laufeydóttir, do you swear to bear no false witness to the Court, understanding the penalty for perjury is death?” Jane’s illusion asked.

“I swear.” Skaði said.

“Place your hand on the truth meter and present your account.” Jane’s illusion said and held out the top of the royal scepter. The scepter used radiation to determine lies. If the truth was told, it remained gold. Upon a lie, it would turn silver and then send an electrical charge into the witness, killing them instantly. No one ever bore false witness.

Skaði’s tribe, including Loki, all sent her a bevy of encouraging thoughts. She took hold of the scepter and began to speak. She provided more than five examples of times when Freyr had raped her and expressed that Valfreyja had used the non-consensual relationship to blackmail her into poisoning Jane and Sif with Black Fire.

“Thank you, Skaði Laufeydóttir. You may return to your seat.” Jane’s illusion said.

Skaði nodded and walked back to her row.

“Skaði’s truthful testimony is enough to sentence Freyr for the crime of rape. It did, however, bring to light Valfreyja’s crime of treason. Due to its severity, the Court must move forward immediately with trial of this crime.” Jane’s illusion stated. “Please bring Valfreyja forth for trial.”

Sif forcefully moved Valfreyja down the stairs and stood her next to Freyr, who was still held by Hogun.

“The punishment for treason is a life sentence in the Asgard prison.” Jane’s illusion stated. “Valfreyja, do you confess to your guilt?”

Sif removed Valfreyja’s silencer.

“This is ludicrous!” Valfreyja yelled. She looked at Freyr and added, “I will get you out of this slanderous disaster.”

“Valfreyja,” Jane’s illusion boomed. “Do you confess to your guilt?”

Valfreyja stared icily at Jane before she grinned wickedly. She shouted, “I would kill you a thousand times, child!” as she surged a flash of Vanir Light at Jane’s and Loki’s illusions.

Unaffected entirely by this attack, Jane’s illusion smiled at Valfreyja while Loki’s let out a laugh.

“What is this?” Valfreyja whispered in shock, unsure how they made it through her attack without being paralyzed.

“You must think me so weak. Tell me, why do you feel the Norns would weave a weak ruler of Yggdrasil after so many years under Odin’s cruelty?” Jane’s illusion said to Valfreyja. “Now, do you confess to your guilt?”

“No.” Valfreyja hissed.

“Then I will call for someone other than Skaði to bear witness to your crime.” Jane’s illusion said.

Loki was about to make his illusion speak to offer to bear witness to Valfreyja’s conspiring with Freyr to kill Jane when Hnoss stood and said boldly, “I will bear witness to my mother’s treason.”

A gasp of surprise rang through the crowd. Hnoss walked to Gersemi and took her hands into her own.

“But you worship mother!” Gersemi said to her sister.

“It is time you knew the truth, sister.” Hnoss said to her.

“Did anyone expect this?” Jane thought to everyone she was linked with. Voices echoed “No.” Apparently there was even more to the story than any of them realized.

“Come forth and identify yourself for the records.” Jane made her illusion say.

Hnoss walked to the stairs, not looking at Freyr or Valfreyja as she passed them. Heimdall stood guard beside her as Jane’s illusion looked at her.

“I am Hnoss Oðsdóttir, and I have borne witness to the crime of which Queen Valfreyja stands accused.” Hnoss said. Her voice was strong, as if she had been waiting a long time to speak this truth.

“Hnoss Oðsdóttir, do you swear to bear no false witness to the Court, understanding that the punishment for perjury is death?”

“I swear.” Hnoss nodded.

“Place your hand on the truth meter and present your account.” Jane’s illusion held out the scepter.

“My child, you do not have to do this.” Valfreyja said softly. “Others will bear witness. You do not need to put yourself through this.”

Hnoss placed her hand on the scepter and looked at Valfreyja, “You are wrong, mother. I must do this. A good leader does what is right.”

Valfreyja closed her eyes, too brokenhearted to watch her daughter’s betrayal.

“My mother’s treason dates back longer than my lifespan and includes an exhaustive list of instances to choose from.” Hnoss began. “It is all based on her irrational idea that she is entitled to be ruler of the nine realms. At first she felt the way to power was only through magic. She led Faradei into believing she wished a strengthened alliance between Vanaheim and Alfheim. When Faradei learned of her true intentions, he nobly refused to give her magic, and she banned him from Vanaheim and their sole child, my sister Gersemi.

“Next she determined Odin was her way to power. She forged a romantic relationship with him, which took place exclusively in Fólkvangr at his express requirement. Nearly every Vanir here today can attest to this relationship, as their relations were quite public within the province. This plan seemed to be working and Valfreyja told me to prepare to move to Asgard. I asked her what had happened to Queen Frigga, assuming she had died as the Asgardian laws do not include divorce in legal terms. She told me that Odin had slowly been poisoning Frigga with the Vanir plant, Papaver nudicaule, which she had been supplying him.” Hnoss paused for a long breath.

“That is untrue.” Loki thought.

“The scepter won’t allow her to lie.” Jane thought back.

“She hasn’t lied. The plant she mentioned was delivered to Odin, but I was in charge of processing the deliveries. We used it in the healing rooms as a medicinal herb. It is a poison, but only in gaseous form. It can kill infections from Kree attack with precision in liquid form.” Loki thought.

“What if he used some on Frigga as a poison?” Skaði thought to him.

“I would have seen it in her thoughts.” Loki thought. “Believe me, I don’t wish to give Odin any credit for his goodness.”

“Sorry, there is more.” Hnoss said after a moment, interrupting the others’ thoughts.

“Continue with your account.” Jane’s illusion said.

“Frigga never died from being poisoned, as you all know. Valfreyja sensed Odin’s betrayal and threatened to kill Frigga herself to punish him. I witnessed that conversation because it happened in the hallway outside my bedroom. Odin never returned to Vanaheim after that night. Valfreyja told Gersemi it was her fault because Odin feared her Ljósalf magic. When I protested this, she…” Hnoss trailed off, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. She took several calming breaths and Jane looked at Valfreyja, who also appeared to be crying. Finally with a shaky voice, Hnoss continued, “When I stood up for my sister, Valfreyja forced me to become a chicken at her command and told me if I did not follow every order she gave me, I would become Gersemi’s dinner. If Vanir consume their own kin’s blood, it poisons them to death.”

Hnoss turned to Gersemi, whose face streamed with tears. All this time she thought Hnoss wanted to obey Valfreyja, but it had never been the case. She had been protecting Gersemi from death. Hnoss looked back to Jane’s illusion and continued.

“After Odin’s dismissal of her, Valfreyja wanted to destroy the Æsir and bring the power of Yggdrasil to the Vanir. Due to my new condition, I found myself enslaved to Valfreyja’s schemes. She sent me undercover as a Rock Giant to southern Jötunheim to locate the Black Fire and bring back enough to infect Odin. She sent Freyr to poison Odin with it, which he did. The next week Malekith attacked Asgard and Frigga was murdered before Odin could infect her. After this happened, Valfreyja knew in time Odin would die from the Black Fire and Thor would become king. Understanding Queen Jane’s relationship with Thor, as well as Lady Sif’s secret relationship with Thor, she blackmailed Skaði into helping her poison them both with Black Fire so one would infect Thor. This would constitute her second orchestrated regicide.

“Now you are Queen, your majesty, and Valfreyja still is not in charge of Yggdrasil. Today’s wedding between you and Freyr was intended to lock in Vanir leadership with ruling Asgard. After consummating the marriage, so it was valid, Valfreyja’s command to Freyr was to kill you. Should he fail, which given today’s ceremony, it is clear now that he will, it becomes my obligation. If Valfreyja becomes imprisoned for life, she will retain her power to turn me into a chicken. There is only one way to break this curse.”

The crowd shifted uncomfortably at Hnoss’ final words, murmuring to each other. Jane’s illusion looked between Hnoss and Valfreyja. The Vanir queen looked exhausted. If Jane imprisoned Valfreyja rather than executing her, Hnoss would still become queen. The political gain for Hnoss was the same either way.

“Do you think it’s a plot?” Jane thought to Loki.

“I do not.” Loki said. “And Valfreyja committed much more than treason.”

Jane took a deep breath in her raven form before making her illusion speak.

“If you have finished your testimony, you may return to your seat.” Jane’s illusion said.

Hnoss nodded, released the scepter and faced the crowd. She spoke to the Vanir in Vanir, saying, “Whatever happens here today, the darkness is over. I or Gersemi will lead Vanaheim out of its völva practice, back to what we once were. You are finally safe again.”

She walked down the stairs and squeezed Hogun’s shoulder whispering, “Thank you for your true loyalty.”

Gersemi met Hnoss in an embrace at the front of their row and their whispered apologies could be heard throughout the silent hall.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated M for violence.

**_Songs for this chapter: “Agent of Chaos” by Hans Zimmer and “Legacy” by Brian Tyler_ **

* * *

“We have reached the time for sentencing.” Jane’s illusion said.

Heimdall and Volstagg flanked the unguarded sides of Valfreyja and Freyr respectively. Jane and Loki flew down to their illusions and cloaked Huginn and Muninn while they flew down to meet them. Jane and Loki returned to their true forms and uncloaked the ravens. They stepped in for their illusions and continued as if they had been there all along. Only Faradei and Gersemi could tell any of this magic transpired.

“Freyr Njordson, for your crime of rape, I hereby sentence you to eternal death.” Jane said.

She and Loki turned around to the ceremony table and each grabbed a handle the Casket of Ancient Winters, causing it to uncloak. They could not shield their skin against such a powerful relic and by the time they faced the crowd again, both were in Jötunn form. Some screams came from the Æsir and Hela’s squeal of laughter rang out across the Hall.

Jane held up her hand to silence the noise, which worked amazingly better in Jötunn form than Æsir. Once it was silent again, she spoke.

“Eternal death is often thought a myth, a concept the Jötnar invented to instill fear.” Jane said. “Today though, you all will see it is real.”

She used magic to separate all of Freyr’s atoms. Volstagg and Hogun released him once there was little left to hold. Jane and Loki harnessed the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters, reversing the polarity so that its icy vortex pulled in the dropar of Freyr. Once it was done and Freyr was trapped inside as millions of pieces, Jane took the casket fully into her possession and Loki faded back to Æsir.

Jane faced the stunned crowd and spoke to them with earnest.

“Odin stole many relics from the nine realms. He sought to amass his power by holding the other realms under his thumb.” Jane called out to the crowd. “Yggdrasil has changed. No longer will those empowered take what is not theirs. No longer will our populations wonder if justice will be served if they are raped. I return this relic to the people of Jötunheim as a gesture of good faith to all of the realms. We will have peace in Yggdrasil once again and we will stand united.”

After Nál climbed the throne stairs to accept the Casket, Jane turned her attention Valfreyja.

“Valfreyja Njordóttir, in light of Hnoss Oðsdóttir’s testimony, you are being sentenced for your crimes of second degree regicide on two counts, plotting regicide on one count, multiple counts of treason, two counts of high treason, unauthorized use of dark magic, multiple counts of coercion, and two counts of coercion through extortion. For the combined severity of your crimes, I hereby sentence you to death by regal execution. In accordance with the Baldr Act, you are permitted two Asgardian minutes to make your peace before your execution. Your allotted time begins now.”

“You should be an illusion not in flesh form for these two minutes, Jane.” Loki thought to her.

“I cannot call mjölnir to me as an illusion and I need it for the execution.” Jane thought back.

“But I can call mjölnir to me and then give it to you.” Loki thought.

“Fine,” Jane agreed.

She was beginning to duplicate herself just as Valfreyja released a massively powerful wave of Vanir Light. It engulfed the entirety of Iðavollr Hall, reaching all the way to the rafters, and causing everyone to fall to the ground, paralyzed. Everyone except Hnoss, who had learned how to block her mother’s attacks; Faradei, Gersemi, and Níðhöggr, who could not be affected by Vanir Light; and Hela, who had intuitively thrown up a shield of dark magic at the moment of the attack.

“Loki!” Hela cried, racing forward to the throne where his body lay.

Valfreyja turned to meet her, grabbing Sif’s double sided sword as she did. Sif boiled with anger and frustration as Valfreyja wielded both edges of her sword. Loki stared in utter terror from the foot of the throne, unable to do anything to help Hela. Both he and Jane could feel mjölnir soaring closer, but they would not be able to catch it when it arrived.

Valfreyja swung the blade at Hela while shouting, “Go back to Hel!”

Hela ducked out of the way just as a flash of green light cast by Faradei hit Sif’s sword, causing it to fall from Valfreyja’s grasp. Its momentum was carrying it towards Loki, and Jane desperately tried to unravel the blade’s dropar with her mind, but she was too depleted of energy and Sif’s blade was too strongly imbued with Æsir radiation. Just as it pierced part of Loki’s leather armor, the blade stopped in midair and began to emit red tentacle-like lights. It reminded Jane of the aether.

“Who is doing that? What is that?” Jane thought to Loki.

“It is Hela.” Nál thought to her, still linked through their tribal telepathy. “Did either of you know she had dark magic?”

Loki cleared his mind, not wanting his affirmative answer to be read by his tribe. Hela’s mother had possessed dark magic. Jane felt him go blank and knew he had answers. She needed to stay linked to her tribe though and the conversation would have to wait. He unlinked from his tribe, but stayed in Jane’s mind.

“What’s happening? All I can see is Loki and I am too weak to cast an illusion.” Jane thought.

“Hnoss is approaching the stairs and Faradei is trying to hold Gersemi back.” Gerðr thought.

“We must stop them! If they kill her, I’ll have to try them for regicide.” Jane thought.

Hela’s voice interrupted them.

“You have no idea what you did just, Valfreyja.” Hela said as she tossed Sif’s sword aside using dark magic. “But let me assure you, there is a special place in Niflheim for you.”

“Move out of my way.” Hnoss said to Hela, approaching her and Valfreyja.

“Hnoss, stop and think. You only need detain her long enough for the Vanir Light to wear off from Queen Jane.” Faradei said with urgency, Gersemi held tightly in his grasp.

“Silence!” Hnoss yelled. Her voice was unhinged.

Hnoss pried Heimdall’s sword from his paralyzed grip and wielded its heavy helm with difficulty. She was not a warrior. Jane could feel mjölnir’s presence, but it was not coming to her. She assumed it was heading for Loki until he thought to her, “Is mjölnir coming for you?”

Before Jane could ask who it would be going to, she heard the thud of the hammer being caught followed by shocked thoughts from the tribe members who could see the action.

“I won’t let you become your mother, Hnoss.” Hela said. She swung mjölnir upwards into Valfreyja just as Valfreyja said the spell, “Dýr.”

With this spell, all those Valfreyja had turned into animals became them, recovering from the Vanir Light attack as a side effect. The hall became utter chaos. Hnoss became a chicken, Hofuð clattering on the limestone floor beside her. Otta became a boar and a score of Vanir turned into various domesticated animals. Valfreyja turned into a falcon and began to escape.

“Níðhöggr!” Hela called. “Stop her!”

The dragon looked once more at his still paralyzed owner before shaking his body to reveal his massive wingspan. He flapped his wings and soared upwards to meet Valfreyja in her falcon form, then spun to throw her to the floor. Her wing broke when she landed and Gersemi began to approach her, finally slipping through Faradei’s grip in the chaos. He called for her, but she only heard Valfreyja’s fluttering falcon heartbeat. As she lifted the sword her sister had dropped, a boar tore past her and rammed into Valfreyja with his tusks, over and over.

“Otta, stop! You will die!” Gersemi called, running once she recovered from her shock.

The paralyzation from the Vanir Light wore off in that moment and Iðavollr Hall came to life again. Sif stood quickly. She was the closest to where Otta attacked Valfreyja, but he was so viciously relentless that Sif did not dare approach. Instead she intercepted Gersemi, who had slowed her run in seeing that Otta was going for the kill.

The two watched as blood gushed from Valfreyja’s falcon form, splattering everywhere until her body went limp. Everyone reverted to their non-animal form, the spell broken by Valfreyja’s death.

Gersemi knelt by Otta, who was soaked in Valfreyja’s blood. She looked at her mother. Blood pooled around her midsection, which was ripped apart, her organs spilling out. No magic could heal the damage. Hnoss passed by Sif to kneel beside Gersemi, giving her a hug.

“It is over.” Gersemi said. “It is finally over.”

Otta groaned and the sisters looked at him. With Valfreyja dead, the magic keeping him youthful was undone. He was almost three hundred years old and his mortal body could not take the sudden aging process.

Hnoss reached her hand to his face and said, “Thank you.”

With the last of his energy, Otta shook his head slightly and said, “Lead them well.”

Hnoss nodded, a tear streaming down her face, and Otta died. Sif knelt next to both girls and Gersemi turned into her body as she cried. Faradei approached them, combing his fingers through his daughter’s hair to comfort her and pulling Hnoss against him in a hug.

Loki and Jane stood, assessing each other’s wellbeing quickly before surveying the damage of the Hall. Jane knew she needed to calm the crowd and move them to the wedding feast while the High Council convened to discuss Vanaheim’s future. As she finally unlinked her mind from her tribe, Hela rushed past her into Loki’s arms. They embraced one another tightly.

“I thought you were going to die, father.” Hela whispered, still shaken up.

 _Father?_ Jane thought, forgetting Loki still was inside her mind.

With Hela against his chest, Loki met Jane’s eyes and thought, “It’s a long story.”

“Another time.” Jane thought back to him. Hela’s eerie familiarity now made perfect sense.

Loki turned his attention back to his daughter, pulling her face between his hands to look her in the eyes. “You saved me, thank you.”

“It was nothing. I could never let you die.” Hela said.

“It was amazing. You were amazing, daughter.” Loki said and kissed her on the forehead before pulling her back into his embrace.

Jane stepped forward on the throne podium, calling mjölnir to her outstretched hand. It flew immediately from Hela’s grasp. With the weapon in her hand, everyone in Iðavollr Hall quieted and looked to her.

“I apologize for the rouse put on today. I knew that the Njord children would never have come to their much needed trials willingly, and as you have seen, Valfreyja was skilled in elusion.” Jane began. “While the primary purpose of today was justice, the wedding ceremony between Loki Laufeyson and me was real, and traditional wedding festivities will take place for those interested in attending. Heimdall and Volstagg will see you to the feast hall next door. For those wishing to leave the realm, the Bifröst will reopen in an hour’s time. All High Council members, Princess Hnoss, Princess Gersemi, Lady Sif, and Skaði Laufeydóttir, follow me to the Council Room in Glaðsheimr for an emergency High Council meeting. Fáfnir, you may bring Níðhöggr. All other family and small council members will be escorted by Æsir or Jötunn guards to the feast hall. Thank you.”

Jane picked up the royal scepter from the floor, sheathed her ceremonial sword, and headed for Glaðsheimr.

“I like your wife.” Hela grinned at Loki. “See you after.”

Loki laughed and gave her hand a squeeze before she followed Jane to Glaðsheimr.

After Hela walked away, Hogun approached him.

“We need to preserve Valfryeja’s body for the undertaking.” Hogun said.

Loki nodded and they walked to where Sif and Faradei knelt with Hnoss and Gersemi. Skaði had come over to comfort them as well. _This is why Jane permitted those two into the High Council meeting._ Loki realized.

Sif looked up at Hogun and Loki as they arrived and then said to the others, “Come, we must go to Glaðsheimr now.”

As the Vanir girls stood, Loki assured them, “I will preserve your mother’s body for her undertaking.”

“There’s no need.” Gersemi said without emotion.

“Truly, do not bother.” Hnoss said.

“One day you will be grateful.” Loki said, somewhat shocked that such kind and wise words were coming out of his mouth and were not in jest. Sif and Skaði both gave him a surprised look. _Have I unwittingly matured?_ Loki wondered as they ushered Valfreyja’s daughters away.

Hogun explained to Loki the differences in preservation for Vanir bodies versus Æsir, and then Loki knelt over Valfreyja’s corpse while Hogun watched his work. Magic flowed from Loki’s hands over her until her wounds appeared closed.

“It is finished.” Hogun said. “Let us set her body aside until I can remove it later when I return to Vanaheim.”

Once they finished with that, Hogun left to find Volstagg in the feast hall and Loki went back to where Valfreyja’s body had been. He conjured a bucket to store the dropar in and cleaned the blood and guts off the floor with magic.

“What the hell happened?” Darcy asked, approaching with Fandral just as Loki was finishing up.

Loki looked up at them, realizing everyone else had cleared out of Iðavollr Hall.

“Oh, the usual. Jane and I got married, she performed two trials and invented an actual punishment for eternal death, and then Valfreyja’s boar lover plowed her to death.” Loki shrugged, standing up.

“Pun intended?” Darcy smirked.

“Always,” Loki grinned. He looked at her seriously and asked, “You’re okay? You’re not hurt? Jane will kill me if you are hurt.”

“Jane would kill _me_ if I was hurt.” Darcy rolled her eyes.

“Hang on, Jane came up with a real punishment for eternal death?” Fandral asked.

“Jane is epic.” Darcy shrugged. “What’s eternal death? Tell me while we walk to the food. I’m craving some wedding cake.”

“What is ‘cake’?” Loki asked, picking up the bucket and starting to lead them towards the feast hall.

“Oh my god, seriously?” Darcy exclaimed. “I guess Jane wasn’t lying when she said Asgard doesn’t do cake.”

“Jane rarely lies.” Loki said. He stopped outside the feast hall doors, realizing he was carrying a bucket of carnage still. “Go on ahead. I think I am a guest of honor anyway. I should probably wait for my bride.”

“Okay,” Darcy said, turning to Fandral, “Come on protector, help me find something similar to cake.”

After they entered the feast hall, Loki went to the royal quarters. He set the bucket down in a parlor that Jane had turned into a lab and found some test tubes. Jane would be annoyed if they did not test Valfreyja’s blood to see what components of magic she had inside of her, especially when she had been in falcon form. He filled ten tubes and stored them in a temperature monitored container, sealing it with Æsir radiation once he closed it. Now that he and Jane were bound by marriage, their Æsir radiation would act as a mutual lock and key, enabling either to access the other’s seals. Everything except the door to Hliðskjálf, which was bound strictly to the ruler of Asgard. He would have to shapeshift into Jane in order to enter there, like he had when pretending to be Odin. Even then, he could not access the actual High Seat and Gullbrú, which made it more or less useless. Loki had no plans to shapeshift into Jane though.

He left the parlor-turned-laboratory and went to their bedroom to prepare the chamber as a surprise for Jane later that evening. While both of them had slept in the royal bed before, they never had done so together. The bed chambers were slightly messy with leftovers of the preparations for the ceremony. As he began to tidy up, there was a noise from the dressing chambers. He pulled his dagger out and approached the door cautiously. As he pushed it open, he heard a female squeal from inside. He peered into the room to find Jane’s old maid, Abigæl hurrying towards the secret passageway.

“Stop!” he commanded. She stopped and turned slowly with her head down. Loki sheathed his dagger and asked her, “What are you doing here?”

“Queen Jane told me to stay until the ordeal was over.” She said.

“It is over.” Loki said. “Head to the feast hall for the wedding festivities. I will be there soon. Don’t tell anyone you saw me though.”

“I will not, my lord. Sorry, wait, are you king now?” Abigæl replied.

“Yes,”

“Sorry, your majesty. I will not tell anyone I saw you.” She stammered out and hurried past him through the royal quarters and presumably off to the feast hall.

Loki returned to the bed chambers and finished putting away everything, resorting to magic to expedite the task. Once it was clean, he examined the space to determine the best approach for his plan. Most Asgardian wedding nights involved flowers and perfumes and oils, but that was not what Jane would want or even enjoy. Instead he first consumed some orka to regain some of his strength, quickly blocking out his tribe’s telepathy once it kicked in. Once he was alone with his thoughts again, he used magic to spread a sheet of ice over the room so it resembled a chamber in Utgard. He layered snow on top of the ice in varying heights to give some elevation to the chamber. Then in a controlled manner, he blanketed clusters of purple lúpínu over parts of the snow, careful not to overdo it. He stood back to inspect his work and nodded in approval. The doors were frozen shut, so he transported himself back to Iðavollr Hall to wait for the High Council meeting to finish.

As soon as he materialized in the Iðavollr Hall, one of the feast hall doors flew open and Fandral, Darcy, and Iðunn spilled out in a breakneck pace. Iðunn had a platter of her orchard’s apples in hand and Fandral gripped so tightly onto Darcy’s arm that Loki assumed he had broken her bone already. Fandral’s attention was not on Darcy though, as he was screaming at Iðunn.

“Why would you bring these here?” Fandral yelled.

Loki had only seen him this furious once before, and that was 1,033 years ago. He approached their group with a walk of authority and they all looked up at him.

 _“ _Andskotinn__ _,_ ” Both Fandral and Iðunn cursed in Æsir under their breath as they saw it was Loki.

“What’s happened?” Loki asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Your majesty, I did not bring these apples here.” Iðunn said with a bow before adding, “One of the Vanir must have brought them. Odin was always generous in his gifts to Valfreyja. I am removing them now as to avoid further incident.”

“What incident?” Loki asked, looking all three in the eye.

Iðunn and Fandral both wore hesitant expressions, but Darcy looked at him with terrified eyes. It was then he noticed the apple in her hand; it was missing a chunk exactly the size of her mouth.

“ _Andskotinn_ ,” Loki cursed as he breathed out a long sigh. “How did this happen?”

“I thought…there wasn’t any cake and I thought it was just candy.” Darcy stammered out, clearly aware now that she should not have eaten the golden apple. “I didn’t know, I promise. On Earth they wrap up chocolate in gold foil. I thought it was the Asgard version of that.”

Loki let out a laugh, unable to stop himself. The matter was not laughable. Jane would never forgive Fandral for this, and if Darcy only had a bite of the apple and not the entire thing, she would die from radiation poisoning.

“That’s all you have eaten?” Loki asked, nodding to the apple in her hand.

“Yes, here.” She said, holding out the remainder of the apple to Loki.

“Keep it.” Loki said, closing her fingers around the fruit. “You’re probably going to need it.”

“Your majesty?” Iðunn said.

Loki looked at her sharply. “Lady Iðunn, go to your orchard and return the stray fruit to its rightful place. Search the feast hall for any remaining apples when you are finished. Fandral and I will deal with the mortal.”

Iðunn bowed to him and hurried away, grateful to have no further dealings on this matter with the new king.

“How long ago did you eat it?” Loki asked Darcy once Iðunn was out of earshot.

“Just like a minute ago.” Darcy said.

“We have been here for a minute, Darcy.” Loki said, his patience wearing thin. “How long ago?”

“Nine minutes, your grace.” Fandral said.

“Too late then,” Loki said to no one in particular. The radiation took hold of the body after five minutes. He looked at Fandral, “Drop the formalities, Fandral. Did you try to remove it?”

“She is mortal.” Fandral replied. “It may have killed her if I tried. I do not know how their frail bodies truly work.”

Loki nodded. He did not know how mortal bodies worked either. There was now only one option. He looked to Darcy and smiled, placing his hands on her shoulder.

“Darcy, which one of us do you want to be bound to?” he asked her.

“What?” she replied, looking between Loki and Fandral with confusion.

“These apples elongate an Æsir lifeforce by 4,500 years. For mortals who consume them, it converts them to Æsir. The process requires consuming an entire apple. If you do not finish the process of becoming Æsir at this point, you will die.” Loki said plainly. “As we already established earlier tonight, if you die, Jane will kill us. To finish the process, you require an Æsir sponsor. So, which one of us do you wish be bound to?”

“Define ‘bound to’,” Darcy said.

“I will do it. She was under my care.” Fandral said.

“Define ‘bound to’.” Darcy repeated.

“It just means that I can feel your lifeforce. It means nothing more than that.” Fandral said.

“Imagine it as if he is your surrogate.” Loki said, nodding.

“But, what if I don’t want to be bound to either of you?” Darcy asked.

“Then you should not have taken a bite of the apple, Darcy.” Loki said. His eyes blazed with anger at the girl’s foolish decision and resulting stubbornness, causing Darcy to recoil in fear.

“Fine. I choose Fandral.” Darcy said, staring at Loki with fearful hatred. “At least he didn’t invade my planet with an alien army.”

“Fine.” Loki said. “Eat the rest of the apple.”

Darcy stepped away from them both to finish the strange apple, which tasted succulent. Loki placed his helmet on Fandral’s head and let out a weary sigh. Once Darcy finished the fruit, Fandral approached her.

“I don’t feel well.” She admitted, starting to sway.

“Take my hands.” Fandral said softly.

Darcy took his hands, quickly steadying herself in his grasp.

“Close your eyes.” Fandral said.

Darcy closed her eyes and Fandral did the same. Loki watched as the helmet controlled Fandral’s lifeforce, moving it from his skin into Darcy’s to heal her radiation sickness. Loki worried the High Council would adjourn any time now and wished they had moved somewhere more private to do this.

“How are you feeling?” Fandral asked Darcy after a few minutes, still in a calm voice. Like Fandral, Loki had been taught that any emotions introduced during this part of the process would affect the personality of the mortal being converted. It was critical to remain controlled and calm when you were a sponsor.

“Better,” Darcy said and took a long, deep breath, as if breathing for the first time. She opened her eyes and looked at Fandral intensely as she said, “I feel strong.”

Fandral smiled at her warmly and she embraced him.

“Okay, well done, everyone.” Loki said after their hug continued for several moments. He reached for his helmet and pulled it from Fandral’s head. “There are guidelines to follow for both of you.”

Darcy pulled away from Fandral and looked questioningly at Loki.

“Yes, guidelines,” Loki repeated. “The first one being that we do not mention this to Jane until it becomes absolutely necessary. I would like to actually enjoy my wedding night.”

“I can agree to that.” Darcy said. “What else?”

Loki looked at her very seriously and said, “When you return to Midgard, have Heimdall send you directly to Tony Stark’s tower in New York. Once there, you need to convince Dr. Bruce Banner to take a sample of your blood and compare it to a sample of Steve Rogers’ blood. Can you remember all of this?”

“I’m a human, not an idiot.” Darcy said.

“You could have fooled me.” Loki said. “And you no longer are Human, Darcy. Try to keep up.”

“Why Captain America’s blood?” Darcy asked, ignoring his rudeness.

“Let’s just say I’ve been to Midgard before and made some German friends who may have produced a serum from one of Iðunn’s apples.” Loki said.

Darcy and Fandral both eyed him, but Loki just shrugged.

“You might also want to dump your boyfriend.” Loki added in a casual tone to Darcy.

“Why?” Darcy asked defensively.

Loki shrugged, starting to walk away as he said, “If you like watching people you love die, then by all means stay with him. But you have 4,500 years left to live now, and you might want someone who will be around longer than…what was his name? Ian! That’s right. Ian.”

Darcy stared at the back of his head, unable to stop the tears from forming and falling from her eyes. Fandral put his arm around her to comfort her. Then Loki turned to face them both.

“When Lady Sif gets out of the High Council meeting, you should seek her help. Fandral will likely want to spend the evening with Skaði.” Loki said. “Now, return to the feast hall before anyone realizes you have been gone this long.”

Fandral ushered Darcy back to the feast hall doors, glaring at Loki as he did. Loki just shook his head with an expression of disappointment.

“Is he always like this? Did my best friend marry an asshole?” Darcy whispered to Fandral, unaware that Loki could hear her. Her body had not adjusted to its new Æsir sensory systems yet.

“He is only this way when he is truly upset,” Fandral replied as they disappeared into the feast hall.

Loki cleared his mind once they were gone so Jane would not be able to read it later and sat on a chair in Iðavollr Hall to wait for the High Council to adjourn. Jane would notice soon that her friend was no longer Human and he would have to take the blame to protect Fandral. He just hoped that it would happen tomorrow and not tonight.

* * *

Jane was the last to leave Glaðsheimr. The High Council had agreed Faradei would help Hnoss prepare to assume her duties as Queen of Vanaheim. He had volunteered for the job, expressing his indebtedness to Hnoss for her courage in saving his daughter’s life.

The two Vanir girls were still quite shaken up by everything and Faradei had escorted them directly to the Bifröst to take them home. Several other Vanir joined them, and many of the Vanir had already left. A decent amount of them remained for the festivities, though, glad to be rid of Freyr and Valfreyja and happy to celebrate the new hope for their realm.

Jane noticed Loki right away, sitting on a random chair near the feast hall doors. Hela sat beside him and they were immersed in conversation.

“Husband?” Jane said to him as she approached.

“Wife!” Loki replied with a smile, standing to kiss her on the lips.

“We should probably go join our party.” Jane said.

“I will see you inside.” Hela said with a smile and small bow as she stood to enter the feast hall.

“Heimdall will likely announce us.” Loki said to Jane, kissing her again. “So, I waited for you.”

“Very thoughtful of you.” Jane smirked.

“You know me.” Loki grinned. Jane noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Loki replied. “I even stored some vials of Valfreyja’s blood for you to study.”

Jane grinned at this and kissed him before saying, “You do love me after all.”

Loki laughed and offered her his arm, “Shall we?”

Jane linked her arm into his and they walked into the feast hall. Within moments of the door closing behind them, the crowd quieted and all turned to face them.

“Everyone, I am pleased to present the newlyweds, their majesties Queen Jane and King Loki. Please join me in toasting to their prosperity.” Heimdall called out in a voice that seemed more jovial than his usual tone.

“Hear, hear!” the crowd called. All of them raised their glasses, Jane having organized for the Jötnar to receive cups that could contain orka so they could participate in any toasts.

Loki grabbed Jane’s hand and lifted their arms high into the air together. This was tradition, but he knew she would not know it since it was not in any books as official protocol. The Æsir cheered wildly at this, clearly well on their ways to drunkenness.

“Thank you!” Jane called to crowd. “Now, let us enjoy the festivities!”

“May the dancing begin!” Loki shouted.

Jane looked at him and said quietly, “Dancing?”

“Dancing,” Loki nodded with a smirk before leaning down to kiss her. He whispered to her, “Don’t worry, I’ll lead.”

Loki pulled her through the crowd towards the center of the room. Their progress went slowly as everyone wanted to congratulate them as they passed. Finally they reached the center and people cleared out of their way to create a makeshift dancefloor. Then someone started up the music and Loki began to lead Jane in the traditional first dance.

At first he led quite well, but as the dance continued Jane noticed he started to use more magic to move them both along. She laughed, which caused Loki to laugh as he continued to push them through the song.

“I hope we are only doing this one song, for your sake.” Jane said.

“Yes, well, it is tradition for the bride to dance with anyone who wishes to dance.” Loki teased.

“Oh no, the tradition is for whomever the ruler of Asgard marries to dance with anyone who wishes to dance.” Jane said. “So, good luck.”

“You are so well prepared for this wedding.” Loki laughed.

“A lot of work went into today.” Jane said.

“And did it turn out as you hoped?” Loki asked her before pushing her into a spin. Jane let her gown fly out in the momentum to catch the light before returning to Loki’s hold.

“The High Council reached a favorable decision for Vanaheim’s future. Plus Surtur no longer feels he can trifle with me. So, I’ve gained his respect, which is huge after what Odin did to him.” Jane said.

Loki rolled his eyes at Jane’s evasion.

“But Alvíss still seems unconvinced.” Jane frowned.

“Leave him to me.” Loki said.

“Oh?”

“Oh.” Loki said and then dipped Jane. He leaned close to her and said, “Truly though, did it turn out as you hoped?”

“It isn’t over yet.” Jane smirked and moved her face towards Loki’s to kiss him.

After they kissed for a few moments, Loki pulled her back upright and pressed his forehead to hers. They breathed each other in, forgetting they were in the center of a massive crowd until the music came to a close and cheers erupted into the air.

“I think we need to bow now to signal everyone else can join in.” Loki said.

“Then can we go make sure tonight turns out as I hoped?” Jane asked.

Loki chuckled and then parted from her so they could bow to the crowd. He turned them to face all four sides before ushering her off the makeshift dancefloor just as a new song started up. They pressed through the crowd, manners and tradition going out the window as they headed for the exit with the singular need to consummate their marriage for the remainder of the night.


	28. Chapter 28

**_Songs for this chapter: “Heart Skipped a Beat” by The XX and “Irene” by Beach House_ **

* * *

Two days had passed since the wedding and the crowds were gone. The High Council members had all returned to their realms, except for Hela who was taking an overnight tour of Asgard with Loki before heading back to her duties on Hel. Darcy too remained, having been taken under the wings of Fandral and Sif at the wedding festivities and excited to explore the realm. Jane still did not know her friend was now Æsir.

Jane had asked Sif to meet her at the door to Hliðskjálf and to come alone. Sif was already running late, caught up listening to one of Darcy’s hilarious stories about Jane, but assuming it was basic protection detail, she had to first change into her usual warrior garb and bring her sword. Jane indicated that she needed to talk to Odin about Hnoss’ testimony and was waiting for Sif when she arrived.

"I apologize for my tardiness, your grace." Sif asked.

"Not at all." Jane took her hand tightly and Sif could feel their Æsir radiation begin to flow into one another.

"What are you doing?" Sif asked. "Am I not here for protection detail?"

"No, I do not need protection while inside Hliðskjálf." Jane smiled. "I wish to show you something inside. Hold onto me tightly."

Sif gripped onto her hand tighter as Jane touched the wood carvings. The golden liquid flowed through the wood and formed the handle to the door. Jane squeezed onto Sif, pushing her magic into their combined radiation so she would have an easier trip through, then Jane turned the handle. Sif was shocked to find them merely walking through a door and into a circular room, similar to the Observatory.

"It looks much more violent from the other side." Sif blurted out.

"Really? How so?" Jane asked, excited with curiosity.

"A flash of gold light and then the portal magic disappears. Sorry, the portal radiation." Sif explained.

"Interesting," Jane said. "I will have to ask Thor how he did it."

"Thor? You have seen Thor?" Sif asked quietly. It hardly seemed fair Jane would get to speak with Thor, but not she.

"Yes," Jane smiled. "I have."

Sif nodded and looked around the room. There was a daybed and nothing else, except the golden column of light that transcended the center of the room.

"Is that...?" Sif asked trailing off because she unsure of the correct term for it. She had only heard stories about what was within Hliðskjálf, about it containing the bridge to Valhalla.

"It is Gullbrú, the portal to Valhalla." Jane said. "Only the ruler of Asgard can enter."

"Oh." Sif said flatly. She had allowed herself to hope about the possibility of seeing Thor again for just that moment. It was foolish of her.

"However," Jane said, looking beyond Sif as if there was something behind her. "More than I pass through the Gullbrú into Hliðskjálf from Valhalla."

Seeing Jane still looked behind her, Sif turned. She let out a slow breath when she saw who was there.

"Hello, Sif." Thor said to her.

"I have business to attend to with Odin. It should take no more than two hours." Jane said in an official sounding voice. Then she winked at them both and added, "Enjoy."

With that Jane put on her helmet and walked through Gullbrú into Valhalla, leaving Sif and Thor alone in the Asgard side of Hliðskjálf.

When Jane exited the Hliðskjálf chamber into the rest of Valhalla, all of the einherjar bowed to her as she passed them on her way to find Odin. The events she orchestrated regarding Vanaheim and her ability to unite the realms clearly had impacted their respect for her as the queen.

Back in the Asgard side of Hliðskjálf, Sif stared at Thor, still speechless.

“How?” Sif said finally.

“It is not entirely real.” Thor explained, approaching Sif slowly, uncertain still if she even wanted to see him. The Sif he knew before would not have asked ‘how’, but merely would have accepted he was there. Her time around Jane had changed her.

“You’re not really here?” Sif asked.

“No, I am here. I just am not alive. It is complicated. I do not actually look this way. I do not look so alive. I just appear this way in Hliðskjálf. But I am here. You can touch me.” Thor said and smiled down at Sif as he finally reached her.

She stretched out her hand to touch his muscular forearm. It felt solid to her, so she ran her hand up his arm. Thor let Sif touch him for a few moments before he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her body closer to his. Sif noticed he did not smell the way he used to, in fact he had no scent at all, but she leaned up to meet his lips with hers just the same. He tasted like nothing, but he felt warm and solid, the way she remembered his touch. She kissed him fiercely, almost desperately, and as he kissed her back with the same frenetic energy, Sif began to cry. Her cries gave way to a full on sob and Thor lifted her easily from the floor and moved them to sit on the daybed.

“I apologize.” Sif managed.

“Do not apologize. You witnessed me die, yet here I am speaking with you. It is much to take in.” Thor replied, clutching Sif’s body closely to his. Whether he intended more to comfort her or himself, he was not certain.

“It is.” Sif sniffed.

They sat in silence for a long while as Sif let out her overwhelmed emotions through tears. Finally she had the strength to sit up and face Thor.

“I am pleased to see you.” Sif said. “So much has happened since you… since you left.”

“Yes, I know.” Thor said and then let out a laugh. “Jane is queen. I was certain Loki would take charge.”

“As was I.” Sif nodded. “But he still became King of Asgard in the end, as it turns out.”

“He loves her.” Thor said. His voice was authoritative, as if there was no argument to his statement.

It was this version of Thor that Sif knew most intimately, but she had realized so much more truth about him since Jane returned to Asgard. Things she always knew, but never wanted to accept. The authoritative tone of Thor no longer held the same value to Sif that it had before.

“True,” Sif agreed with his statement. “They are an interesting pairing. Very powerful together.”

“You do not trust them?” Thor furrowed his brow.

“No, I do.” Sif shook her head. “Loki and I have made our peace. And Jane…she has done so much to reunite the realms in such a short time. It is as though she has no limits to what she can accomplish.”

Thor nodded for a moment before saying, “Sometimes limits are useful.”

“Yes, like the new law Jane enacted against rape. That is a useful limit.” Sif said.

Her tone kept Thor silent. Everyone in Valhalla except Frigga and Bestla had been shocked at the edict Jane imposed, but the einherjar mostly were men. It made Thor wonder about their behavior, about whether they truly should be in Valhalla or ought to be in Niflheim. Then the wedding and trials occurred and Valhalla changed its tune in regards to Jane. He knew it mostly was out of fear of retribution, which was how Odin had gained respect. But somehow through this show of power Jane had managed to gain the respect of Surtur, Fáfnir and the least likely ally, Hela. It was a feat Odin never managed, quite the opposite in fact.

“Frigga was a big proponent of that law.” Thor said finally.

“How is she?” Sif asked. “Or is that not how it works?”

Thor smiled, his blue eyes gleaming with the reflection of Gullbrú’s golden radiation.

“Yes, we all are moving about in Valhalla, not in some frozen state.” Thor explained. He frowned slightly before admitting, “Frigga and Odin do not get along there.”

“Is it to do with what Hnoss testified to?” Sif asked.

“The affair with Valfreyja?” Thor clarified.

“Yes,”

“That is undoubtedly one of the problems.” Thor said. “They are no longer bound by marriage and Frigga does not wish to move on to the realm of the dead. Her ability of continued interaction with the living through magic upsets my father. It is clear too that she always held preference for Loki and not me. I think this bothers Odin the most.”

“Does it bother you?” Sif asked, caressing Thor’s thigh.

“Yes,” he said after a moment. “I suppose I deserve it though.”

Sif combed her fingers through his long blond hair before she said, “Loki has endured much pain in his life. That does not mean you deserve to be loved less by your mother.”

Thor nodded, closing his eyes as Sif moved her hand to his bearded face, tracing his wide jaw with her palm.

“Sif,” he began, his eyes still closed. “I do not deserve to be in Valhalla.”

“That is a lie.” Sif said. “You are no imposter to that realm. You were a king and you deserve to be there. What sins have you committed to keep you from there?”

Thor turned to her and opened his eyes. Their blue penetrated her green eyes with an intensity she had only felt when being watched by Loki.

“We worked with Valfreyja. We supported her oppressive reign.” He said. “I was fine to send you into a false relationship with Freyr, a rapist. I was fine with it! ‘For the good of Asgard.’ What kind of person does that?”

“Valfreyja orchestrated that. It was her treason.” Sif said. She hesitated before she added, “You did not know the kind of monster that Freyr was. Did you?”

Thor shook his head and said firmly, “No. I did not know. Vanaheim hid their dark secrets well.”

“See, you are deserving of Valhalla.” Sif said. “Perhaps Odin is not, but you are, Thor.”

Thor heaved a heavy breath before he said, “Thank you.”

“I miss this. I miss having you around to converse with so freely.” Sif said. “I will speak with Jane about coming to see you more often.”

“You will not.” Thor said, using his authoritative tone again.

“Why not?” Sif challenged, pulling her hand from his face.

“You cannot come here again. You must move on with your life.” Thor said.

“I can do both.” Sif protested. “I can visit you and move on.”

“No,” Thor said, shaking his head. He took Sif’s hands into his own as he said, “I see you at night, every night. When you think of me and I think of you at the same time, I can see you. You cry every night. It is breaking my heart, Sif. Only yesterday after spending time with Darcy, Fandral, Volstagg and his family did you not cry yourself to sleep. You are starting to move on. Who would I be if I stopped you from that?”

“You are my best friend.” Sif whispered, tears brimming over her eyes and trickling down her cheeks.

Thor wiped her falling tears and then kissed her softly for a few moments. When he pulled away from her lips, he held her face in his hands, his fingers reaching her hair and combing into its strands.

“I _was_ your best friend. I died, Sif.” Thor said. “If you come back here, I will not see you.”

“No,” Sif breathed, shaking her head violently under Thor’s grasp. “No, I will still come. I will come every day until you finally give in and agree to see me.”

“If you do that, I will refuse to give my help to Jane.” Thor said, releasing Sif’s face and leaning away from her.

She stared at him, shocked at his ultimatum. She could not knowingly refuse aid to her queen. That was treason.

“But I love you, Thor.”

“As I love you, Sif.” Thor said.

“Why would you hurt me like this?” she choked out.

“ _Because_ I love you.” Thor said. “You have to move on, Sif. You have a whole life to live.”

“A life that I could live with you in it!” she protested.

Thor shook his head. He tried to take her hands again, but Sif would not let him touch her.

“I am gone, Sif. I am in Valhalla, a place that you cannot enter now. One day you will join me there, but now you must live.” Thor said. “You are so strong and so beautiful, you are still needed in this world. The universe awaits you, and it is vast. The longer you dwell here, the shorter you will have there to make a difference. To be who you are.”

“This is who I am.” Sif said, shaking her head. “I am yours.”

“Sif, you were never mine. You could never belong to anyone but yourself.” Thor said softly. “That is what I loved most about you.”

“So I am just to forget you and live my life?” Sif asked.

“I asked Jane to arrange this meeting so that we could finally say goodbye.” Thor said after a moment.

Sif said nothing. Thor meant what he said and he was not going to give into her. She realized that he needed her to be brave, and that was something she could do for him. Finally she took Thor’s hands into hers and looked at him.

“Jane has a way of making people do the right thing.” She said.

“I wanted this.” Thor said, grasping tightly onto her hands. “I needed this, Sif.”

“I understand.” Sif said. She kissed him once before saying softly, “Thank you. Thank you for letting me say goodbye.”

“No, Sif,” Thor said earnestly. “Thank you.”

Sif nodded at him and then gave him a smirking grin.

“I know that look.” Thor said with a chuckle as he stood. “I have no weapon though.”

Sif opened both sides of her sword and split the base in half. She threw one of the blades to Thor and then circled around him. He wielded the sword half and took a defensive stance. Sif’s eyes flashed as she attacked Thor. He easily defended himself and then countered. Sif protected herself and attacked again and they began to spar in full combat mode.

Sif had not felt this alive in months. They sparred for at least an hour until Thor finally ceded and gave Sif back her sword’s other half. She reassembled it, letting her lifeforce flow into it to bind the sword again, and then sheathed it.

“That was fun.” Thor said, letting out a laugh.

“It was, yes.” Sif smiled. “One last spar so you know who was the best warrior between the both of us.”

“I never doubted it was you.” Thor grinned.

Sif raised her eyebrows at him.

“Fine, I openly doubted it was you, but privately I always knew the truth.” Thor said, a smile playing in his blue eyes.

“I will miss you.” Sif said. She walked to Thor and placed her hand on his cheek.

“You know that I will see you whenever you do.” Thor said softly, covering her hand with his own.

“Goodbye, Thor.” Sif said in a sure voice. “I will never stop loving you.”

Thor leaned down to kiss her in a passionate manner. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and moved his hand behind her head to hold onto her tighter. She kissed him back, feeling all of his body within reach of her hands while she did.

Finally they parted mouths and Thor breathed out, “I love you, Sif.”

He stepped away from her and gave her a smile before he said, “You are going to have a magnificent life.”

Sif nodded, tears forming again without her wanting them to. She reached for his hand and held onto it tightly. Thor stepped towards Gullbrú and pulled his hand from her grip, tracing her skin with his fingertips as he moved away.

“Goodbye, Sif.” He said.

Thor met her eyes for a long moment before he disappeared into the golden light. Sif covered her mouth with her hand as a wailing sob fell out. She collapsed to the floor, unable to breathe or think or stand. She hoped that Jane would not return any time soon because all she wanted was to be alone.

As Thor stumbled through Gullbrú into Valhalla, Jane looked up from the bench she sat on in Glasislundr. Her uncomfortable meeting with Odin had only lasted twenty minutes and she had retired to await Thor’s return in Glasislundr, a grove of golden leafed trees that extended off of Hliðskjálf only on the Valhalla side. She had discovered it a few weeks before during a visit to Valhalla.

“I am over here.” Jane called to Thor.

He walked around Gullbrú and headed directly to the bench she occupied.

“How did it go?” she asked as he sat next to her.

“Give her some time.” Thor said with a shaky voice as he began to cry. “She deserves some time alone.”

Jane nodded and took Thor’s hand into her own. They sat in silence for an hour under the gleam of the grove’s golden leaves.

* * *

“Did Hela enjoy her time here?” Jane asked Loki that evening as they sat on the royal balcony overlooking Asgard under the clear, starry night. Hela had left for her realm around sunset a few hours before, well after Jane and Sif had exited Hliðskjálf earlier that afternoon.

“She seemed to, yes.” Loki replied. He hesitated a moment before adding, “I should probably mention that Hela has a twin brother named Fenrir. You must think it is strange I have children.”

“It’s surprising, certainly, but not exactly strange, given that you’re you.” Jane said with a laugh. “I am wondering more though why I have not seen this in Hliðskjálf.”

Her power of knowledge as Almother seemed omnipotent, but there was not a hint of Hela being Loki’s child anywhere in the High Seat let alone any mention of a Fenrir. She wondered what other gaps there might be.

“I have hid Hela’s and Fenrir’s parentage from Odin to protect them.” Loki said. “Odin killed their sister, my first child, Jörmungandr. You know this name to be one of Jötunheim’s constellations, but in reality, it is comprised of my daughter’s orka.”

“When was this?”

“Just over a thousand years ago. It’s an unpleasant story.” Loki said.

“I wish to hear it.” Jane said.

Loki looked at her, though she kept a profile to him, the starlight spread across her face. Her eyes felt far away, like Heimdall’s often appeared. Then she turned to him and smiled, reaching her hand to his, not shielding her skin. Once he was in Jötunn form, Loki felt comfortable enough to tell his story.

“It started as a training exercise in the Ironwood, a forest on the Moon of Járnviðr, which is just east of Midgard in a stray branch of Yggdrasil.” He began. “Odin made me accompany Týr, who was leading Thor and the other young warriors to help put down an incursion from the trolls who live in those woods. When we arrived though, there was no conflict to squander. Týr suggested we cleanse the Ironwood of the trolls and bullied Thor into the idea by taunting him for being weaker than him, unworthy of mjölnir. Before any of us could stop them, they entered into a competition to see who could kill the most trolls in three days’ time.”

“How barbaric.” Jane muttered.

“Quite. Sif, Fandral, and I were appalled and quickly set out to warn the trolls so they could flee. It was then that I met Angrboða. She was...” Loki trailed off, glad he was in Jötunn form so he would not be able to cry. He cleared his throat and continued, “Sorry. She was half-troll and half-Jötunn. She possessed magic, though the dark magic that is associated with the Ironwood. I still do not know if what I felt with her was real or witchcraft, but I was too enraptured to leave her. If I did turn Jötunn at her touch, I was too ensorcelled to notice.”

Jane realized she should feel an emotion like anger or jealousy, but she did not. Those emotions seemed trivial and fleeting, tainted with destruction. She wished to build a better future for their universe, and such negativity had no place in that endeavor.

“What happened?” she asked, looking Loki in the eye to show her genuine interest. It was a major aspect of his life, a life she now shared with him.

“I hid us from Thor and Týr until the three days had passed and then I rejoined the warriors to leave the Ironwood. During that time we conceived Jörmungandr, though I was unaware of this until I went back to visit a few years later. The fact that we reproduced a Jötunn who shapeshifted into a serpent probably should have been a warning sign to me.” Loki laughed. “But as I said, dark magic was afoot. I was so proud of Jörmungandr; I don’t know how to explain it. I slept with Angrboða again and naively convinced her to let me introduce our daughter to Odin. Of course he cast her into the Ægir where she drowned. He’d bound me and forced me to watch, helpless to save her. Do you know what he said to me? I remember it clearly. He said, ‘We always destroy the monsters of this world. They are not deserving of our love.’”

Jane said nothing.

“So years later when it was finally safe for me to go there unseen, I slipped away to the Ironwood to tell Angrboða what happened. It was then I learned Odin had sent Týr to massacre the rest of the trolls soon after he killed Jörmungandr. Upon her death, the magic binding me to Angrboða passed to the twins, Hela and Fenrir, so they were easy to find in the forest. I smuggled them to Hel, where no living soul dwells, and gave Hela domain over the realm and Fenrir the duty to protect her. In exchange they promised never to reveal our relationship to anyone until Odin, Týr, and Thor all were dead.” Loki finished.

“So Týr is dead?” Jane asked. She was certain that he was not in Valhalla.

“Yes, I killed him.” Loki said. His expression was hard. Jane realized the timing of this meant Loki had been a teenager, perhaps the age of Gersemi or Gerðr.

“How?” Jane asked.

Loki looked at her with surprise. He did not expect her to want this detail about him.

“I shape shifted into a seal and lured him into the Ægir with me. Then I drowned him, just like they drowned my daughter.”

Jane nodded and then asked, “Am I the only one who knows?”

“Yes,” Loki said in a whisper. “You’re the only being I trust beyond my children.”

Jane squeezed his hand tightly.

“Your children are welcome here any time.” She said.

Loki shook his head.

“Fenrir is usually a giant wolf. Hela told me he ran away, but she did not know where.”

“Do you know?” Jane asked.

“I found him, but...” Loki started. “He is different now.”

“You found him where? In Heven, the tenth realm?” Jane asked.

“Yes,”

“Different how?” Jane asked.

“He looked exactly like my Æsir form, but younger. It was uncanny. He must have dark magic like Hela, but he could survive in space. He was floating in space unaided and unprotected, and it did not harm him.” Loki said. “Hela would have been harmed. Their mother would have been harmed. I would have been harmed. He is not what he was before.”

“Do you think he is an Angel now?” Jane asked.

“I’m not sure what that means. What is an Angel?” Loki asked.

“It’s the race found on Heven. They descended from the Archangels, who are Celestials.”

“Creatures of the Ginnungagap.” Loki said quietly.

“Yes,” Jane said.

“I don’t know.” Loki said shaking his head. “I just don’t know. Fenrir must have sensed I was there because I cannot see his energy any longer. He is hiding from me.”

“We will find him. He does not know to hide from me.” Jane said.

“And if does not wish to be found?” Loki asked. “I abandoned him. Clearly he does not want to see me. Why would he?”

Jane moved closer to Loki so she could kiss the markings on his forehead.

“Hela wanted to see you.” She said softly. “You will never know unless you find him and speak with him. Just as you should speak with Nál.”

Loki pulled away from Jane and stood up. Their skin became Æsir as he walked to the balcony’s railing. Jane waited for a few minutes before going to him and embracing him from behind. As he wrapped his fingers around her arms, she pushed her mind into his. She realized he was crying and masking it with magic. His mind was a murky kaleidoscope of thoughts.

“Slow down,” she thought to him. “What’s wrong?”

Loki let out a ragged breath and thought, “This was what I wanted for so long. I don’t know who I am anymore. Hating Odin and Thor was my identity. Now they’re gone and there’s no purpose to that part of me. There’s no point. What was the point of all that hatred?”

“Then let it go.” Jane thought. “Just let it go.”

Loki turned to Jane and searched her eyes before he asked her, “How?”

“Through me,” Jane said. She wiped a stray tear from his cheek, shielding herself so they would remain Æsir. “I can see them whenever I want. Come into Hliðskjálf with me when you are ready, and you may speak with them, too.”

Loki nodded and smiled weakly at Jane.

“I need you here and present with me. I need you well.” Jane said. She kissed him lightly on the lips and thought to him, “The tides of the universe are moving, and with the infinity gauntlet here in our vaults, we are the moon that pulls them.”

Loki tucked a lock of Jane’s hair behind her ear and cupped her jaw in his hand. His jade eyes pierced hers and she could feel his thoughts about how much he loved her.

When he spoke, his words were plain, “If we are the moon, then war is coming.”

“I know.” Jane said. “Before it arrives we must reunite all the realms. We must regain an alliance with the Angels.”

Jane pulled her mind from Loki’s and kissed him to help relieve the pain. He kissed her back until it grew passionate enough for them both to drop their shields and turn Jötunn. Jane let out a growl as her claws extended and ripped open Loki’s wrist for the blood to make her stay Jötunn. She gave him some of her blood and Loki’s eyes flashed a brighter red with lust.

“There’s one more thing before we retire to the bedroom.” Jane said.

“And what is that?” Loki smirked as he ran a few fingers over the fabric covering Jane’s breasts.

“Odin took a secret to his grave. It’s one he seems quite intent on keeping, even in death.” Jane said. Her eyes darkened as she added, “I need you to worm it out of him. He told me today he seeks your forgiveness, something he does not deserve. Perhaps, though, that sentiment will make him open to an exchange? You’re a masterful liar and you’ve fooled him before. What do you think?”

“Are you asking me to betray Odin in his death-bound spirit world?” Loki asked her with a hint of a grin.

“Am I asking you to betray the man who drove apart Ymir in his quest for the genocide of our race and then stole you from your mother’s arms under the guise of peace only to raise you to be forced to witness him murder your daughter because she was not Æsir?” Jane clarified. The red of her eyes deepened as she said, “No. I am commanding you.”

“I will happily obey.” Loki grinned.

He gripped Jane in his arms and transported them to the top of Askjafjöll’s highest peak. The winter winds whipped around them and Jane let out a pleased laugh, not expecting this move. Loki removed their clothing using magic and Jane lunged at him, pushing him into the snow. He fought back, laughing and growling until he was inside of her. Jane clawed into his back as he pinned her against the crisp snow and formed a rhythm with her body. Looking past his blue shoulder, she could see Jörmungandr sparkling down from the clear sky.

She smiled and breathed in the icy air, allowing it to fill her lungs with Loki’s clean scent. Her lips found his neck and she closed her mind off to everything but that moment. Her mind that linked to the living and the dead; that saw the fate of the universe; that reshaped any form of matter; that held the knowledge of the former protectors of the realms; she closed it all off. Alone with Loki on the top of their realm, it was a strange paradise.


	29. Epilogue

**_Song for the epilogue: “Send Me An Angel” by Real Life (Awesome Mix Vol. 2)_ **

* * *

In the six months since their wedding, Queen Jane and King Loki had visited each of the nine realms. They returned relics from their vault, met with the various small councils, collected information about every realm’s resources, and attended the coronation of Hnoss. Loki had even managed to secure a lucrative contract with Alvíss and the dwarves to mine the ore needed to build the inter-realm communication device. It seemed more people in Yggdrasil liked Loki than he initially anticipated, which was not surprising to Jane.

Now that they were back on Asgard after their realm tour, Jane wanted to start researching everything they had learned while away. Instead though, they first had to hold Court for the Æsir. Jane felt like they’d been at court all year. Given the number of Æsir coming in with requests and complaints, they had to set aside a full month to handle it. She looked out the tall windows to see the sun beginning to dwindle towards dusk. This marked the final day of holding court.

“This has been exhausting.” She said.

“The guards say there is only one more person begging audience.” Sif said reassuringly.

“I hope whoever it is amuses me more than the rest of today’s peasants.” Loki sighed.

Jane gave him a look.

“Sorry, today’s subjects.” He corrected.

A guard entered the throne room to announce the final person.

“Your majesty, I present a foreign visitor who says he is from Terra, but resides among the stars.”

“An adventurer,” Sif mused.

“Terra is another name for Midgard.” Loki explained to Jane. This name was not in their library and he only knew it from his travels.

“And what is this Terran’s name?” Jane asked the guard.

“He calls himself Star-Lord, my Queen.”

Jane smiled at the pompous name.

“Show him in.” she said with a wave of her hand.

The guard bowed and went to fetch the visitor. A very Human looking guy with messy brown hair and handsome facial features followed the guard into the throne room. He looked around and let out a whistle.

“Nice palace. I dig these columns.” He said.

“Your name is Star-Lord?” Jane asked, keeping a straight face.

“Not really,” the man laughed. “It’s more of a title. My name is Peter Quill.”

“Curious,” Jane said. “And you’re from Earth?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Peter smiled. “Haven’t heard it called Earth since I left. You been there?”

“I too am from Earth.” Jane smiled.

“Really? I didn’t think they let Humans in Asgard, let alone on the throne.” He said.

“I am not Human.” Jane said simply. “What about you, Peter Quill? You’re a long way from Earth given how inadequate its space travel remains.”

“Yeah, that’s a story.” Peter laughed. “I’m only half-Human, to be fair.”

“What’s the other half?” Loki asked.

“No clue. My dad left us and my mom died before she could explain.”

“They’ve not tested you to find out?” Sif asked.

“They have.” Peter said, giving Sif a once over before continuing, “They couldn’t recognize the species. Not on any database. Beyond the galaxy kind of thing.”

Jane looked at Loki who nodded slowly at her. She spoke to Peter, “Beyond the stars, perhaps?”

“Sure,” Peter shrugged.

“How exceptional.” Jane said. “So, Peter, what brings you to Asgard?”

“War.” Peter said.

“What war?” Jane asked nonchalantly.

“The one headed your way.” Peter said.

“Oh, there’s a war coming?” Jane said, still sounding unfazed. “Who exactly wages it?”

“Some pretty scary dudes.” Peter said, clearly getting impatient with Jane’s lack of interest. “Listen, the Nova Corps sent me and the other guardians out to warn everyone. They’re seeking support and Asgard has usually been an ally.”

“No disrespect, Peter, but ‘scary dudes’ isn’t exactly a big deal.” Loki said leaning forward with a menacing grin. “I am a ‘pretty scary dude’ and here I sit.”

“Right.” Peter said. “I mean like Ronan level of scary.”

“Ronan?” Loki said, perking up. “Now there’s a name I have not heard in a while. The Kree fanatic, you mean? How does he fare?”

“Well, considering I killed him with the Power Stone some months ago on Xandar, I’m guessing not really well.” Peter said.

“You killed Ronan the Accuser?” Loki wailed. “But he had such big plans! I love when fools have big plans. So much fun to watch them doddle.”

“You harnessed the Power Stone and did not die?” Sif asked.

“That’s right.” Peter said, winking at Sif. “But the real scary dude is Thanos.”

“How do you know Thanos?” Jane asked. She sat up straight and looked at the Terran intensely, trying to determine if he was bluffing.

“I don’t. I just know of him. He’s the guy who pulls the strings.” Peter shrugged. “The puppet master, you could say.”

“Intruders,” Heimdall’s voice rang in Jane’s head.

“Seal the vaults.” Jane commanded, standing up from the throne. “It seems Star-Lord did not come alone.”

“The Tesseract?” Sif whispered.

“Peter Quill, you are under arrest for acts of criminal intent and association with high theft.” Jane said, conjuring handcuffs onto Peter’s wrists.

“Arrest isn’t really my style.” Peter said, struggling in the radiation of the Æsir cuffs.

Jane conjured a silencing muzzle onto his face before adding, “Do I look concerned with your style, Mr. Quill?”

Loki smirked as the guards seized Peter.

“Shall I escort him to the dungeons?” Sif asked.

“Oh no, I will do so myself.” Jane said. “Find his companions and escort them.”

“And separate them all.” Loki added.

Sif nodded and said to Loki, “Yes, I too heard about the Kyln.”

Peter narrowed his eyes at Loki, who gave him a smug grin.

“Peter Quill has more to say.” Jane said walking slowly down the stairs from the throne. “He’s come here to deliver a message.”

She took Peter by the arm and added in a soft voice, “After all, delivering messages is what Angels do, is it not?”

 

**_Jane, Loki, and Sif will return in The War of Angels_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank all my readers, old and new, for coming on this journey with me and seeing Jane, Loki, and Sif's stories through. I have loved all your comments, kudos, and bookmarks, and am so glad that so many people have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you all, you are all amazing! And to the readers who started with me way back in April 2015 or over on FF in 2014: bless you all for sticking with it this long :-D I hope it was worth it.
> 
> Additionally, I must thank my editor and beta, Emily, for being the most amazingly enthusiastic and patient editor ever. Without you, this story would not have been finished and certainly would not be as good as it is. Thank you for all your time, efforts, lunchtime edits, and after work phone calls. See you on the next book... ;)


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